


Like ten thousand jewels in the sky

by MamaWouldBeSoProud



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Anal Sex, Arranged Marriage, Blow Jobs, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mpreg, Slow Burn, eventual soulbond, this is self-indulgent porn with feelings plain and simple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:04:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 49,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23121097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaWouldBeSoProud/pseuds/MamaWouldBeSoProud
Summary: The wedding announcement in the Colorado Mining Gazette on the day Joseph Taylor Compher gets married reads: “Heir to the Compher Silver Company marries Omega Tyson Jost from Canada”. Which- it covers the basic facts, but also there is more to it than meets the eye.The old-timey-Denver-around-1890-AU that nobody asked for but that needed to be written.
Relationships: (t-bear and nate are mostly in the background though), J. T. Compher/Tyson Jost, Tyson Barrie/Nathan MacKinnon
Comments: 42
Kudos: 235





	Like ten thousand jewels in the sky

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a piece of fiction and if you found this by googling yourself or people you know personally, please turn the fuck around and get out of here. I’m serious, this is not for you! Shoo! 
> 
> You know how a story has to have some drama that needs to be resolved until we get to the happy ending? Well, this story is about 75% fluff and happy boning and just very little stuff that makes you bite your nails in distress. I wrote it while Tyson was sort of on the trade block and I couldn’t handle any more drama. Also this was originally much shorter in my brain, but it got away from me slightly. Oops. 
> 
> All the thank yous in the universe to my amazing beta Ali, who not only made this story approximately 1000% better but also worked as my personal cheerleader and sounding board. Anything you might like in here was probably her. I am not even kidding. 
> 
> This starts with one person entering a relationship out of sheer economic necessity. I want to make it clear from the start that all the sex that happens in this is still very enthusiastically consensual. There is some mention of domestic, physical and sexual abuse in this story, as well as a pretty graphic birthing scene and a minor character death (off-screen though). If any of those things trigger you in an uncool way, please don’t read this. 
> 
> Title from the song “Denver” by Willie Nelson, which is lovely, fits perfectly and you should listen to right now!

The wedding announcement in the Colorado Mining Gazette on the day Joseph Taylor Compher gets married reads “Heir to the Compher Silver Company to marry Omega from Western Canada”. Which- it covers the basic facts, but there is so much more to it than meets the eye.

For one, JT Compher thinks bitterly as he prepares for the ceremony, they forgot to mention that this is not a wedding about love; that JT has not picked his future husband, and hasn’t planned on getting married at all. If it were up to him, he’d run the stupid family business alone and unmarried, or together with his sisters, Jesse and Morgan, who are savvier business people anyways. 

Or he just wouldn’t run the company at all and leave all of it to them. Maybe he’d find something else that suited him better; like his best friend Gabriel’s bakery on main street. JT is not a baker, but he’s an excellent salesman and he could do wonders for Gabriel’s shop. 

Instead, he thinks, putting on his cufflinks, he is getting married to a stranger today. An Omega from Canada that his parents picked out for him. JT growls a little as he tries to fiddle his stupid golden cufflinks through the holes in his sleeves. His future husband is a man he has never seen.

Not that JT ever envisioned getting married to a lady - he’s not inclined that way and never has been. Which is a problem when you are of the lower class, getting you marked as a pervert, a degenerate, and going against God’s wishes by desiring a man. If you are born into a wealthy family like JT’s, your family can buy you an Omega husband. At least for a while. 

Many families of higher standing buy their male heirs a temporary Omega husband to bear them children. While a woman usually stays pregnant for nine months, an Omega needs only six to bear unusually strong and healthy babies. Omega births are far less complicated as well, rarely ending badly and going much quicker than most women’s births. Some say it’s because Omegas were intended for breeding. It’s what they do best, what they were meant for, the only thing they are supposed to do. However, an Omega is still technically a man and so a proper marriage before God between one of them and another man is not right, however many healthy babies it produces. 

Omegas, then, are often prone to- well, “accidents”. There’s a particularly horrible joke about Colorado’s old silver mines being stuffed with dead Omegas who “stumbled on a walk” or “got lost in the woods”. If an Omega is lucky, he gets a fair divorce and a nice financial settlement before being sent far away - without his children - to live the rest of his life out as a wet nurse or a caretaker of the elderly. Meanwhile, the omega’s rich ex-husband is free to marry a woman and raise the children together with his new bride. Sometimes the new wife has an additional child, which, if it happens to be a boy and the boy survives, is first in line to inherit everything. Because while Omega babies are a useful insurance, they are also the children of an Omega and therefore inferior to other offspring. 

So nobody who reads the wedding announcement will be under the impression that this is a love match. Which it definitely isn’t, JT thinks grimly. It is a business transaction. He will, however, make damn sure it stays a civil one. No matter how strange his Omega husband is - and Omegas are very strange, everyone knows that - JT will make sure that his new husband is well taken care of. Not that he plans on having any children with his Omega. He’ll pretend to have a normal marriage for a year, spare this Omega the indignity of a pregnancy and then, in a year, when no child is born, JT will dissolve the marriage, the Omega will receive a sizable amount of money, and his ex-husband will start his life over elsewhere. 

The crucial detail to ensure that the blame of childlessness won’t be laid at his Omega husband’s feet is JT’s close friendship to his physician, Dr. Zadorov. Who has - after one too many vermouths - agreed to officially attest JT’s sterility. Of course he could have done that already, right after JT’s father announced his plans of having JT marry an Omega, but his father is smart. He would have seen right through this ruse and would have made JT visit another physician to get a second opinion. If JT gets “proof” of his sterile condition after a year, however, nobody can say he didn’t try. He’ll act broken up about it, send his Omega away and then live his life, free, just like his Omega.

*******

“I will rescue you if you’re trying to drown yourself in a bathtub, you know,” JT’s footman Kerfoot says as he barges into the room without knocking. They’re at JT’s parent’s house, where JT has lived his entire life until today. Now he is going to live in a new home, together with his new husband. Which means his parents won’t be around every minute of every day anymore. 

That might be the only upside this marriage has.

“Are you done yet?” Kerfoot asks impatiently.

“Yes,” JT grouses through gritted teeth and pulls a comb through his hair one final time. 

“Perfect,” Kerfoot replies and ushers him out the door. 

It’s a twenty minute carriage ride to the courthouse and JT fiddles with the buttons on his waistcoat the entire time. He’s actually made an effort to look nice today, not quite sure why, but he also doesn’t want to think about it too hard. 

“Nervous?” Kerfoot asks. JT shakes his head even though the giant lump in his throat is trying to suffocate him. This is a disaster already. He cannot take care of an Omega husband. He can barely take care of himself half the time. And what if he fails to protect his new husband? What if his family tries to harm this Omega? This is entirely too much responsibility for JT’s liking.

When they enter the courthouse, it’s so stuffy JT feels like he is suffocating, pulling at his stiff collar every few seconds. 

“Would you relax?” Gabriel, his best man, whispers to him. “What’s done is done. All you gotta’ do now is say yes.” 

JT just nods and tries to keep breathing. 

He greets his parents, hugs his sisters, and shakes the hands of all the important men in town. Erik Johnson from the Denver Race Track offers him a sip of whiskey from his flask, and JT takes a grateful swig when nobody’s looking. EJ gives him a toothless grin and a wink. JT likes him. 

EJ is one of the richest men in town, and also one of the funniest. He owns the Riverside Race Track and is crazier about the horses he breeds than he is about people. Last spring, he’d sneezed while standing too closely behind one of his young stallions. The horse had kicked him right in the face and Johnson had spat out half his teeth. Gabriel - who had popped in for a visit right before it happened - had fallen off his own horse from laughing so hard. Another man would have put the kicking horse down; Johnson had christened it Landeskog and fed it some sugar cubes. 

The rattle of another carriage pulling up can be heard outside the courthouse doors and the mayor nods at everybody to sit down. Omega marriages are not ordained by God and therefore not held in a church. Instead, like a business arrangement, they are held in town halls. That the mayor agreed to wed JT to this Omega at all has less to do with his personal views and more to do with the fact that the Comphers are one of the richest families in town and have supported the mayor’s run for office with considerable sums of money. JT’s father calls him “a good friend” and JT hates the man for precisely this reason

There are virtually no other Omegas in Denver, so it is still a bit of a novelty to have one around. Nathan MacKinnon married an Omega from the west coast last year, but they have been up North in Toronto to tend to MacKinnon’s lumber business and aren’t expected back until the Spring. They got married just weeks before they left and spent most of their time away from Denver’s high society. They hadn’t even attended the Summer Ball. The news that the Comphers had bought their son an Omega had therefore traveled fast, and the town hall is crammed today. 

The mayor beckons JT to stand in front of the crowd while everybody else sits down. There is a knock on the door and a bell chimes three times. JT’s mouth is very dry all of a sudden. 

“We give thee permission to enter,” the mayor says pompously. JT suspects the mayor has read up on the correct way to conduct an Omega wedding, which JT would usually find funny, but it is a little hard to breathe right now. JT decides to concentrate on not throwing up instead. 

The main door opens slowly. JT knows that the Omega was brought here by his handlers, since he isn’t allowed to travel alone. He was brought here from his home in Western Canada, where he lived in poverty with his unmarried mother and younger sister, both her and the Omega born out of wedlock. The Omega approached the agency that connected him with JT’s father himself, signed a contract about this marriage and the fact that he is to bear as many healthy children as he possibly can. The Comphers paid a handsome sum to him, that will go towards a proper education for the Omega’s younger sister and secure his maiden mother’s retirement. That’s why the Omega signed the contract. That’s why he agreed to this. 

JT knows about all of this. He also knows that he hates every part of that story. He hates that his father bought another human being for him. He hates that even though the Omega chose his fate out of his own volition, JT can’t help but wonder if the Omega really wants this. He hates that it is now his responsibility that nobody harms this Omega. He hates how overwhelmed he feels, how incredibly scared and nervous. And he hates that no matter how scared he might be, it is probably ten times worse for his new Omega. 

Finally the door is open enough for JT to see his future husband. He is clad in the typical Omega wedding clothes: A simple linen dress, almost like a nightgown, and no shoes or socks, even though it is November in Denver. The clothes are there to remind the Omega that he comes from nothing and that all he has in the world will come from his new husband, so he must be grateful for all of it. JT hates that as well. It’s wrong to let somebody almost freeze to death just because of some fucked up tradition. He looks down at his Omega’s feet; they are pale and shimmering a little blue. He must be freezing.

JT forces his eyes upwards, to the linen dress and then the face. An exceptionally pretty face. Delicate features and red lips, pale skin and large, dark eyes. The Omega has nothing covering his head, so JT can see the brown curls that frame his face. JT has the weird urge to bury his fingers in those curls, which he immediately tries to squash. Instead attempts a shaky smile at his Omega, who just stares back in utter terror and then lowers his head. God, this is going to be a mess.

JT does not remember the ceremony at all. He cannot for the life of him remember a word the mayor said, or the vows he and his new husband exchange. He does not remember the rings they put on each other’s fingers. Instead he remembers the strange scent that fills the air from the moment his new Omega steps up to stand beside him. It’s fleeting, almost imperceptible. Just a hint of cinnamon and snow. JT keeps sniffing the air to figure out where the smell is coming from, but every time he does the scent seems to shrink away and vanish. 

Later, the only thing JT will remember is the way his husband touched him for the first time. How the Omega had gone to his knees on the cold wooden floor, just like the mayor instructed, and how he held up pleading hands. JT was supposed to let him wait a few moments in order to establish dominance, but the second his Omega got down on his knees, JT had offered him a hand to get up again. He doubts his Omega even kneeled properly, but he does not care. He focuses on how cold his Omega’s hands are instead. JT vaguely registers his father’s stony face in the corner of his eye and briefly considers taking off his jacket to put over his new husband’s shoulders. 

Once they have exchanged rings, the mayor gives them his blessing and JT takes his Omega’s hand and leads him out of the room. Gabriel and Kerfoot follow them outside, while the rest of the audience slowly gets up from their seats. They are supposed to drive back to the house of JT’s parents, in the better part of town, where a select few of the guests are expected for a celebratory dinner later today. After dinner, JT and his new husband will get into a carriage and make their way to their new home, just a few minutes further down the road. 

The new house is a freshly built mansion, not too large, with a garden framed by large bristlecone pines. The house has half a dozen cozy bedrooms, living quarters for the staff, a large salon with an open fireplace, and a library with a huge oak desk where JT can work on business accounts. It’s where JT is supposed to start his new life as a married man, first with his Omega and eventually with a wife and many children. 

Their carriage is waiting right outside the door, where fresh snow is falling thickly from a steel-colored sky and an icy wind is blowing harshly at them the second the courthouse doors open. Kerfoot holds open JT’s favorite beige coat but instead of slipping his arm into the sleeves, JT takes it and puts it over his new husband’s shoulders. 

“Here,” he mumbles, “you must be freezing.” 

“Thank you, Alpha,” his Omega replies; so quietly JT almost doesn’t hear it. 

Gabriel opens the courthouse door for them to walk the few steps to the carriage. JT puts a hand on his Omega’s back to guide him but he stops abruptly at the border of the freshly fallen snow on the sidewalk. He looks down at his Omega’s naked feet and then makes what others may consider to be the first of many colossally stupid decisions. 

It’s just a few steps into the carriage, and his Omega has been walking around barefoot all day, but the thought of him even taking one more step in the freezing cold is more than JT can take right now. He feels wretched just imagining it. 

“I am sorry,” he says to his Omega before picking him up like some lovesick husband carrying his quivering bride. His Omega makes a strange squeaking sound before throwing his arms around JT’s neck and holding on. Gabriel opens the carriage door for them with the biggest shit-eating grin JT has even seen. No doubt Johnson will hear this story before JT and his Omega are even halfway home. 

“I’ll see you for the wedding dinner later,” Gabe says when JT has deposited his Omega into the carriage and climbed in himself. “Have fun until then!” And then he closes the carriage door with a wink, while Kerfoot climbs up to sit beside the driver.

“Kerf,” JT calls, “can you have somebody tell my father that we are not going to stay with them until the dinner but instead return to our own home?” Kerfoot climbs back down and looks at JT with raised eyebrows.

“Someone is eager,” he remarks, but then shrugs and gives the driver a sign to get going. “I will make sure your father hears the message. I’ll also get my own ride home,” he says and disappears with another wink back into the town hall.

JT sits back with a sigh. Let them think he is going straight home for marital reasons. His father should be pleased. He glances sideways at his Omega, who has somehow gone paler and is shivering underneath JT’s Kashmir coat. 

“Hey,” JT says softly and his Omega flinches. “I- please, can you not be scared of me?” he says and immediately regrets it. What a moronic thing to ask for, really. 

His Omega blinks at him. 

“I- damn it, this sounds stupid,” JT mumbles and knuckles his eyes in frustration. “I just- I want us to be friends. I never- I didn’t want this, my parents made me and-” His Omega flinches again but harder, looking down into his lap with trembling lips. Shit, JT is going to make his husband cry before they are even halfway home. He takes another deep breath.

“No, that’s not- Alright, let me start over. I’m Joseph Taylor, but everyone calls me JT and maybe you would also like to do that?” he says kindly. His Omega looks up. 

“Whatever you wish, Alpha” he whispers. 

“No, see-” JT starts but his Omega flinches again. JT sighs. “Or you call me Alpha. Whatever you are most comfortable with,” he finally says. His Omega nervously fiddles with the buttons on JT’s coat. 

“What do I call you?” JT asks.

“Whatever you want to call me, Alpha” his Omega whispers. 

“But- Well, what do you want me to call you?” 

“Whatever you like most, I will be happy with.” JT sighs again, but really quietly, so his Omega doesn’t flinch again. He still looks like he is on the verge of tears and he seems so scared, like JT is about to beat him up or something. 

“What does your family call you? People who care about you? What do they call you?” JT asks. 

“Tyson, Alpha,” comes the whispered reply. There is a single teardrop rolling down his Omega’s cheek now and JT badly wants to wipe it away. Instead it slowly rolls downwards until it falls onto the white linen dress, making the tiny spot where it fell translucent. 

“Tyson”, JT says quietly, “I will try to do my very best for you.”

*******

There is nobody at the house apart from Lauren, who opens the door in surprise when their carriage arrives. Her auburn hair shimmers in the winter light as she bustles outside in a dark green dress. Folk from outside town often mistake her for one of JT’s sisters because of her hair and freckles, but Lauren had come from Ireland when she was just 14 years old to care for JT and his sisters when they were infants. JT suspects that the love he has for her is what other people feel for their actual mothers. Well, it’s mostly love. Love and some annoyance. But mostly love.

“What on earth are you already doing here? Did you escape? Are you a runaway groom? Do we have to leave town?” she asks as she comes towards them.

“Oh shut up,” JT grumbles as she tries to suppress a grin. 

Lauren was still working for the family when his father ordered JT to get married. Officially she acted as companion and chaperone to his sisters, but when JT offered her the position as head of his new household staff, she immediately accepted. She then proceeded to completely decorate his new home before bossing JT into getting a new wardrobe and haircut. 

“Do not argue, mother knows best!” she said when he had dared to protest some of her choices.

“You’re not my real mother!” he’d replied and smiled when she had laughed. 

JT steps out of the carriage and holds a hand out for Tyson. 

“Come on, I’ll carry you again” he says with faux-cheeriness and an encouraging smile. Anything to stop Tyson from crying.

Tyson emerges out of the dim carriage, wrapping himself tightly into JT’s coat. He shakes his head almost imperceptibly.

“No?” JT asks.

“Please no,” Tyson whispers. 

“But- there is snow everywhere and- I can carry you, I don’t mind! You aren’t heavy or anything,” Tyson shakes his head again. 

“Please no,” he repeats. 

Lauren puts a hand on JT’s arm and also very subtly shakes her head. Then she smiles encouragingly at Tyson.

“I am so happy to meet you Omega Compher,” she says. “May I be the first to congratulate you on your nuptials. Come on, let’s get you inside to warm up,” Tyson smiles shyly at her and nods, so JT gives him a hand to help him down from the carriage, quickly walking over the snowy drive up to their door. JT has to force away a grimace when he sees Tyson’s bare feet in the snow. 

Lauren takes Tyson upstairs to get him into a hot bath and JT makes his way into the library, already his favorite room of the house. Not least because one of the maids has put out a bottle of his favorite whiskey and a tumbler beside the open fireplace. JT sits heavily into one of the leather armchairs in front of the fire, lights a pipe and pours himself a generous amount of liquid into a glass. He’s on his second when Lauren finally comes into the door. She wordlessly pours herself a whiskey too, tops off JT’s, and then sits down on the other chair with a huff.

“How is he?” JT finally asks, after they have both stared into the fire for a minute or two.

“Asleep,” Lauren answers. 

“He’s so scared,” JT says. “I know he signed up for this, but- he is so scared of me.” There is a lump stuck in his throat and his eyes feel dangerously wet. JT hastily takes another swig of whiskey and a puff of his pipe to burn it away. Lauren nods grimly and takes a sip as well.

“He was practically frozen solid,” she says with barely suppressed anger. “And there were bruises on his arms. Like somebody slapped him around a little. Maybe his handlers.” JT can’t suppress a little growl at that. Lauren looks at him, startled.

“Easy there, Jimothy Timothy,” she says. Her old stupid nickname for him. JT still pretends to hate it. 

“Maybe go upstairs and punch a pillow or something.” Lauren says. “We will have to leave for your wedding dinner in a couple of hours and you need to get your rage out of your system until then.” 

She gets up and takes the bottle. “I’ll hold on to that. You go and have some water. Your father will kill both of us if you show up drunk.” She leaves with a wave as JT’s curses follow her out of the room. 

*******

JT does eventually go upstairs to his new bedroom. It’s a lovely room with shining oak floors and forest green wallpaper, a large and comfortable four-poster bed, another open fireplace, and huge windows that overlook the garden and the woods behind. One can even see the mountains in the distance, although right now everything is obscured by the falling snow that covers the landscape like a thick white blanket. 

JT sighs as he loosens his cravat. Tyson is sleeping in the bedroom just next door. Of course they are expected to share this room, but JT will try to prevent that from happening. He doubts Tyson would even be interested in marital relations, and JT is not going to force himself on anybody. He can’t imagine how anyone would enjoy something as vile as using force when it comes to this. The one time he did share the bed with another man - on his travels through Europe, in a particularly liberal part of Greece where the men were young and athletic and had soft, olive-colored skin - he enjoyed the enthusiasm the other man had for the things they did together. 

Just the memory of it makes JT think about taking a hot bath himself and maybe having some private time alone. But before he can finalize the thought, there is a hesitant knock on the door. 

“Enter,” JT says.

The door opens and Tyson slips inside, head bowed and eyes glued to the floor. He’s wearing some of JT’s old clothes that Lauren must have dug out for him. Simple pin-striped pants and a sweater that Lauren had knitted for JT a long time ago. Tyson looks like he’s drowning in it. He looks like human-shaped submission. 

“Hello Tyson,” JT says gently. 

“Hello Alpha,” Tyson replies. 

“Did you have a good rest? Do you feel better?”

“Yes, Alpha, very much.” Tyson does a funny little bow. “I apologize for being so weak.”

“Wha-” JT stares at him. “You weren’t being weak! You were freezing in that thin dress! And without shoes.” 

Tyson flinches again at JT’s loud voice and JT curses inwardly. He can see Tyson’s lower lip wobble from here and suddenly he feels very tired. 

He silently beckons Tyson over to the bed, because he wants to have a conversation and he feels like they need to sit down for that. He wonders when the last time was that Tyson ate something and whether Lauren had offered him anything. She probably had. Still, Tyson looks like he might keel over or catch consumption any second. 

They sit on the edge of the bed and JT gets up again to quickly light a lamp. It’s rapidly getting dark and he wants to be able to see Tyson’s face to make sure that there are no misunderstandings between them. He can only save Tyson - and himself for that matter - if they are on the same page. JT turns back to the bed and freezes in his tracks.

Tyson has taken off his sweater and the shirt beneath, his white skin shimmering in the pale winter afternoon light. JT can see goosebumps forming along Tyson’s spine with Tyson’s back turned towards him and JT speechlessly looks on as Tyson makes quick work of his pants and drawers and before crawling onto the bed, completely naked. He pulls up his knees underneath his body, presses his face into the pillows and stills, ass up in the air and shivering slightly. 

JT has forgotten how to speak. There are no words left in his brain and his mouth won’t cooperate and- he has no idea where to start, even. He just stares, not comprehending what is happening right before his eyes. 

“Alpha?” comes the tiny voice of Tyson from the bed. He has turned his head slightly and is looking at JT with big, dark eyes. 

JT swallows audibly and then takes a step towards the bed. Tyson immediately tucks his face back into the pillows. JT stops in his tracks. He thinks about what Lauren would do in this situation. Or Gabriel. Or even EJ, in a pinch. How they would react to this. And then he makes another decision.

There is a soft woollen blanket lying on an armchair nearby. JT grabs it and after some hesitation spreads it gently over Tyson’s shivering body. He can see Tyson’s breath stutter in surprise and Tyson’s hands, which he has fisted into the bedspread, unclench slightly. JT steps out of his shoes and slowly lies down next to Tyson on the mattress. He makes sure they aren’t touching anywhere, and tries to just lie there on his back with his hands folded on his belly and looking at the ceiling. He takes a deep breath and then starts to speak.

“Tyson,” JT says, “I need to tell you some things and I need you to listen. Because I don’t know why you got naked just now and I feel like we do not understand each other yet. But we need to. Because I want us both to be happy.” 

Tyson has shifted his head again slightly. From the corner of his eye, JT can see his husband’s face turned slightly towards him. So he's listening. Good. 

“I told you before that I didn’t want to marry an Omega. My father picked you out and signed that marriage contract for me. I know you apparently chose to do this out of your own free will, but I don’t condone this practice of essentially buying another human being. Maybe I’m too soft-hearted, or maybe just naive, but I think marriages should start, if not with love, then at least with a sense of kinship and maybe even admiration for one another.” 

Tyson has still not said a word, but when JT chances a glance, Tyson has his face turned fully toward him now and seems to be listening. 

“I read up a little on Omegas” JT continues quietly. “I don’t understand everything about you, but I’m guessing that you were told to be obedient and submissive. I have to tell you that I don’t care one bit for these things. I know this is a lot to ask but I wish you to speak your mind and tell me when things are bothering you. In return I’ll promise to do the same for you,” JT turns his face and looks at Tyson intently.

“I also promise to never hurt you and never force you to do things, unless to protect you from harm,” JT says. Tyson blinks at him. 

“We’ll have to stay married for a while so my father sees that we tried. He wants a baby but he won’t get one. I know it’s in your contract, but I have a plan. We’ll simply pretend to try having a baby and when it doesn’t work, I’ll get an official document from a doctor saying that I’m sterile and can’t have children. We’ll separate in a year’s time, and I’ll pay you enough money to go home to your family and live out your life in comfort and ease.” JT takes a deep breath. “You won’t carry the burden of leaving a child behind and nobody will be able to place the blame on you, since we’ll have proof it’s my fault,” Tyson is openly staring at him now. But JT can’t really read the expression on his face. Is it elation? Or horror at the thought of breaking his contract? Does Tyson trust him or does he think that JT is playing an awful prank?

“So, we would have to lie and pretend,” JT continues. “Pretend to have marital relations. Which means that we might have to share a room now and then, because I am sure my father has his spies even here,” JT sighs. “The only person I fully trust here is Lauren. And maybe my sisters, Jesse and Morgan. You’ll meet them tonight. They are- something,” JT chuckles a little at the thought of them before he falls silent. 

“Do you-” Tyson whispers, “do you not like me? Do you prefer women?” 

“Wha-” JT is jolted back to reality by this. He stares at Tyson. That is his takeaway from JT’s entire speech? 

“It is not about that!” JT says and Tyson flinches at JT’s loud voice. But he still looks openly at JT, their faces only inches apart. JT carefully turns on his side and slowly brings up a hand to place it over one of Tyson’s clenched ones on the bed. He moves like he would with a skittish horse. 

“You are beautiful, Omega Tyson”, JT says as clearly and slowly as he can. “You’re a very lovely husband, but I’m not sure you would have chosen to marry me if you didn’t have to. I know you signed this contract yourself, but you didn’t even know me going into this. I’ll do my best to give you the freedom to find a marriage that you do want to enter into. To find love and happiness. Do you understand?” Tyson still stares at him and then the smallest flash of smile crosses his face. It is as startling as lightning on a blue sky. 

“Yes, Alpha,” Tyson replies. It is the first thing he says that is not a whisper. 

*******

The wedding dinner goes about as well as they could have expected, JT thinks. Tyson is wearing one of the suits that were included in his dowry, and looks very handsome when he comes down the stairs to meet JT, Lauren, and Kerfoot. When JT tells him so,Tyson blushes and whispers ‘thank you, Alpha’ before they all begin to put on their coats in order to head out to the carriage. 

Somehow, Tyson didn’t have a coat included with his suit, because apparently it’s tradition to let Omegas freeze to death or let them catch pneumonia. Tyson whispers that he doesn’t need one, but JT gently bullies him into wearing his own favorite coat again. It gets him another thank you from Tyson, who blushes and smiles a shy little smile, and some raised eyebrows from Kerfoot who knows very well how much JT loves that coat. 

They arrive at the Compher mansion where seemingly the entire town has already congregated. JT and Tyson have to make the rounds, and JT shakes what feels like 200 hands while Tyson curtsies prettily beside him with downcast eyes and a shy smile. Even though there are a lot of people, he doesn’t seem as scared as he was this morning when they got married. Maybe it’s because Omegas like praise, JT thinks when he catches Tyson sneaking looks at him. 

“Are you alright?” JT whispers when he thinks nobody is watching them.

“I’m perfect, Alpha, thank you,” Tyson whispers back and flashes JT another shy smile. It makes something curious tingle underneath JT’s ribcage. 

Eventually they sit down to eat. The meal begins with mushroom soup, continues with venison filet and duchess potatoes, and for dessert the cooks bring out a giant ice sculpture surrounded by fresh fruit dipped in molten dark chocolate. JT’s favorite cook has even made them a wedding cake with sugar figurines on top and a filling made of cream and jam. Tyson has eaten very little all night but when JT has a bite he enthusiastically breaks a bit off with his fork and lifts it up to Tyson’s mouth.

“You have to try this,” he tells him and Tyson looks very pleased when JT feeds him the bite. He even scoots a fraction closer and leans in when JT moves the fork back to his plate. JT ends up feeding the entire piece of cake to Tyson and finds that he doesn’t mind one bit. 

He does mind his idiotic friends wagging their eyebrows from two tables away. 

After dinner, EJ comes over to introduce himself to Tyson and, quickly, almost everybody follows suit. Tyson studies Gabriel’s stupid handsome face and when Gabriel has finished welcoming Tyson very earnestly to Denver and has turned back to his table, Tyson leans in and whispers into JT’s ear “he’s very nice and very handsome.” 

“Yeah, well, you should know he cheats at cards and I’ve heard he leaves his socks on in bed,” JT grumbles back. That earns him the tiniest of giggles from Tyson, and JT feels the strange tingling again. 

They almost make it through the entire night when - of course - things go South. Most guests have already left, and Tyson and JT are sitting together with JT’s sisters, who have managed to engage Tyson in smalltalk about dogs. JT is listening in with a smile and the vague thought of maybe getting a dog, since Tyson seems to be extraordinarily taken with them. 

“I shall speak to you,” a deep voice suddenly says, and his father’s big hand lands on JT’s shoulder. Tyson looks like a balloon that somebody pricked with a sewing needle at the sight of JT’s father, shrinking down into his seat and staring intently at his folded hands in his lap. JT feels all of his energy drain out of him. The content cheerfulness he felt a second ago is gone. He nods at Tyson to stay put and silently follows his father out of the room, down the corridor and into his father’s study.

“You seem to be taken with the Omega,” his father says as soon as they are seated. 

“He’s easy enough to like” JT replies. He has trained for years not to let any emotion show either on his face or in the tone of his voice. It is too easy to give his father ammunition. JT has made that mistake too often, and won’t repeat it again. His father studies him intently. 

“Have you bred him yet?” he asks, and JT feels his poker face slip.

“Wh-”

“So you haven’t,” his father says with a mocking undertone. “I would have expected you to jump at that chance the second you could. Given your… disposition.”JT swallows hard and doesn’t answer. This will be quicker if he doesn’t even put up a fight.

“I expect a grandson,” his father continues. “And soon.”

“Yes, father.” JT replies as courteously as he can. 

“And you know how to do it?” his father asks. “Or do you need me to demonstra-”

“No, father” JT hastily says. “I know what to do, thank you.”

“Good.” JT’s father smiles icily across the table. “Because if you fail to put a child in that Omega, I can and will take care of that. I don’t much go for other men, but at least I know how to do what’s best for this family and the company. Do you understand?” JT stares at his father. Surely he can’t mean- That would be- JT can taste bile at the back of his throat. He feels his eyes going watery. 

“Yes father,” he says hoarsely.

“Good,” his father says again. “That contract was very expensive and I won’t see my money go to waste. I’m guessing you’re already trying to weasel your way out of this with one of your schemes, and you should know I can also play dirty,” JT’s father opens one of his cigar boxes, carefully picks one and clips the end off of it. He reaches for his matches and takes his time lighting the cigar.

“So don’t get any ideas,” his father says. The smell of smoke wafts over the table and tickles JT’s throat.

“I will send you over some reading material tomorrow. It’s about heats. Some Omegas have them in order to soulbond with their Alphas. We don’t want this to happen. If it does, there is no way we can get rid of this Omega without you losing your mind. So make sure to read what I send you.”

JT nods numbly. His brain is still stuck on his father having his way with Tyson. Sweet, innocent Tyson who was just starting to trust JT a bit. 

“You may leave,” his father says. JT gets up and bows respectfully before leaving the room, his pulse hammering in his ears and his insides roiling. It’s too much. It is all too much.

Tyson is already in JT’s coat and waiting by the door when JT emerges from his father’s study. Lauren stands next to him, chatting about the evening. The other remaining guests seem to have left in the short time that JT was gone. 

“We are all ready to leave, Alpha,” Tyson says when JT approaches. He says it with a small smile and a curtsey. 

“I can see that, I am not blind” JT snaps and snatches his coat from the footman who was holding it open for him. Tyson flinches back like JT has just struck him, and pales so quickly that for a moment JT thinks he might faint. The smile has vanished from his face and he stares very intently at his own feet before curtseying again. Lauren stares daggers at JT, her mouth open in rage. JT does not care. He wrenches the entrance door open and storms out into the snow, leaving Lauren, Kerfoot and Tyson to trail behind him. 

The ride home is awkward, to say the least. Kerfoot is sitting next to the driver, so Lauren, JT, and Tyson are alone in the carriage. Tyson is pressed to one side, steadily looking out the window, while JT stares out the window on the other side and Lauren kicks his ankles every five seconds. JT ignores her. He is angry at everyone and everything. He wants to scream at somebody, he wants to smash something. He wants to be far away from here, with no responsibility for this Omega, who is totally dependant on him and scared of everything. It’s only been one day and JT already feels exhausted. He swallows down some tears that seem perpetually lodged in his throat. Back to anger. Anger was so much easier than this raw, clawing panic in his chest. 

They get back home and JT wordlessly hands his coat to one of his new footmen before going up the stairs to his bedroom,Tyson trailing a few steps behind him, like some sort of scurrying mouse. JT doesn’t answer Lauren when she wishes them a good night. They enter their bedroom together and Tyson wordlessly closes the door while JT crosses the room to the adjoining bathroom. It’s built in the modern fashion with metal indoor plumbing and a water closet. There is a large copper bathtub under one of the windows and an ornate china sink with a large mirror above it. JT takes his time with his ablutions and emerges from the bathroom a while later in just his trousers and undershirt and with the vague plan of sending Tyson to another bedroom immediately so JT can be alone in peace.

Tyson is on the bed again, naked, ass in the air, face buried in a pillow, hands clenched in the sheets and shivering all over. The picture of deference and submissiveness. But while this picture shocked JT only a few hours ago, it only annoys him now. What is it with this Omega and getting naked? JT slams his clothes on a dresser nearby.

“What is this?” he says way louder than he needs to. Tyson flinches but does not answer, his face still buried in the comforter on the bed. 

“Why are you naked, Omega?” JT continues and his voice is dangerous now. He can feel the pressure cracking his ribcage, can feel the rage burning a hole into his chest. 

“I- I thought-” comes Tyson’s tiny voice from the bed, “I thought-”

“You thought I would want to have my way with you now, is that it? That I would force myself on you? Is that what you think of me?” JT knows he is being unfair but he cannot stop. He rakes his hands through his hair and paces up and down the room. Tyson is still on the bed, sitting up slowly and staring at him like a rabbit stares at a rattlesnake. 

“I won’t do that to you. Sorry to disappoint if you expected some brutal Alpha who has control over other people. I- I am not my father,” JT half-shouts and finally his voice cracks. And then he feels hot tears spill from his eyes. His sinks down to the floor as a dry sob climbs up his throat and then another. There is just no way out. He is in way over his head and he wants to protect Tyson and he wants to protect himself, but there is just no way. 

“I am not my father,” JT whispers and buries his face in his hands. 

It is a soft touch that eventually jolts JT out of his miserable stupor. A cold hand that gently strokes over his hair and then down his back. It pulls at his elbow until JT gets up. He is being led to the bed and gently pushed to sit on the edge of the mattress. And then somebody takes off his socks and opens the buttons on his pants. Soft hands pull at the feather down duvet and guide JT to lie down underneath in his undershirt and drawers. The lamp on his bedside table is extinguished and then the mattress dips on the other side of him. There is a rustling of bedsheets and JT feels Tyson touch him softly between the shoulder blades.

There is silence for a few heartbeats.

“You are not your father,” Tyson eventually says quietly. “You are a good man, Alpha.” JT still feels raw, like somebody ripped off all his skin and left him standing outside in the snow, exposed and vulnerable. His face is swollen from the crying and his throat feels sore. He slowly turns around to face his husband. 

Tyson is wearing a white nightgown and looks very pale. His eyes are still big and scared and his brown curls frame his face like a dark halo. JT feels wretched for the way he screamed at him. At his frightened husband who is completely dependent on him. He’s done nothing wrong, and JT went ahead and took all of his own anger and fear out on him. He squirms with guilt. 

“I am sorry,” JT whispers. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” He can feel his eyes filling with another round of tears as he speaks. 

“I am so, so sorry” he continues. “You did nothing wrong. Nothing at all. You’re a good Omega, I just- I don’t know how to protect you. How to protect the both of us. I don’t think I can do it.”

“Then we will just have to protect each other” Tyson says very quietly. He places one of his cold hands on JT’s swollen face and pulls him a little closer. JT goes easily. He ends up kind of curled into his husband with his face very close to Tyson’s chest and Tyson stroking up and down JT’s back in a steady rhythm. It’s surprisingly comfortable like this, JT thinks, as he drifts off to sleep. Tyson is making a low purring sound, almost like a contented cat, and his breath ruffles the hair on top of JT’s head.

JT has never been this warm in all his life.

***

JT never understood why anybody would willingly get married. But when he wakes the next morning, he can start to see the appeal in some aspects of it. They have shifted in the night, and JT is now spooning his husband; an arm flung over Tyson’s waist and his palm pressed over Tyson’s heart. JT can feel his steady, slow heartbeat through the thin nightgown. 

It’s light outside, and when JT cracks one eye open, he can see snow still falling from the sky. There are heaps of it piling up on the windowsills, already obscuring a good part of the windows. Tyson’s curls are tickling his face but he smells so nice and feels so good in his arms that JT doesn’t mind. He angles his hips a little bit away from Tyson though, because his natural morning stiffness does not need to be pressed against his husband’s ample behind, however much it feels like heaven. They are not on even ground in this relationship, and Tyson is in no position to comfortably refuse JT’s advances. Therefore he will stick to his old plan of not getting Tyson pregnant, his father’s threat is something he has to take care of another way. He will figure it out. There will be a way.

A maid quietly slips into the room and starts making a fire in the fireplace. JT uses the opportunity to close his eyes again and pretend to be asleep. He wants to bask in this cozyness just a little while longer. The maid makes quick work of the fire and soon JT can hear the flames crackle merrily as the maid hurries out of the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click. 

JT still has his palm right above Tyson’s heart and he can feel it quicken when his husband wakes up. He hears Tyson’s breath hitch and then- Tyson lets out a little sigh and shuffles back a little, pulling JT’s arm tighter around him. JT hides his smile in Tyson’s curls and together they pretend to be half-asleep for another little while.

After breakfast, JT has to go to his office for some paperwork. Lauren promises to show Tyson around town and help him pick out a new scarf, warm gloves, and a pair of leather boots. JT may still have to find a way to protect his husband from being impregnated but at least he can stop him from freezing to death. He hasn’t told Lauren about what his father said last night, and he’s not sure he wants to. Instead he lets her fuss over Tyson like she would fuss over JT or his sisters and watches with a smile as Tyson seems to warm up to her. 

JT works silently for most of the morning until the clock strikes noon. He walks over to Gabriel’s bakery on main street and orders a strong cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun for lunch. Gabe is too busy to chat long, but his associate Mikko comes out front when JT finishes his coffee and hands him an ornate paper box tied with string.

“For your husband. Many congratulations!” he says, beaming at JT.

“Thank you, Mikko,” JT replies. “I’m sure Tyson will love whatever’s inside.”

Mikko nods, grins, and then goes back to washing coffee cups with too much fervour, nearly breaking half of them. Gabriel often says he could buy his wife and daughter dresses made from the finest silk if it weren’t for Mikko, but JT doesn’t believe him for a second. First, because Mikko is living with the Landeskog’s and they seem to love him as a dear friend and house guest and second, because Mrs. Landeskog and little Miss Landeskog are always clad in very lovely dresses. 

JT returns home around five in the afternoon and goes to his library, where he finds Tyson curled up on a chair next to the fireplace, reading a book. JT stops in the doorway and looks at this tableau for a moment, surprised at the surge of emotion in his chest. Of course Tyson notices him and hastily gets up, closing the book and hurrying over to greet him with a deep curtsey and a kiss on the cheek.

“Welcome home, Alpha,” Tyson says. “I’m sorry you found me in this manner. Lauren said it would be alright if I picked a book from the library and I’ve never seen so many books before, so-”

“It’s quite alright,” JT says with a little laugh. “And it’s even more alright if you stay seated when you see me. You were looking quite cozy just now.” Tyson blushes a little and looks down. Suddenly there is an awkward silence between them.

“What are you reading?” JT finally asks and reaches out for the book in Tyson’s hand.

“Gulliver’s Travels, Alpha,” Tyson says quietly. 

“Do you like it?”

“Very much, Alpha,” Tyson replies timidly. JT sighs a little.

“Tyson, could you maybe- Why do you always call me ‘Alpha’?” Tyson looks up at him in confusion.

“Because that is your title. You are my Alpha. I am your Omega.”

“Couldn’t you just call me JT, like everyone else does?” JT asks. Tyson looks positively scandalized.

“Alpha, I could never. It would be disrespectful and debasing and-”

“Alright, alright,” JT says and lifts his hands in defeat. He thinks for a few moments and then he says “I won’t order you to call me JT, because I’ll try not to give you any orders at all in this marriage. But when you are ready, I’d love it if you called me JT.” Tyson studies his face when he finishes and then nods slightly. 

“Now,” JT says with a small smile, “would you like to go back to reading your book or would you like me to show you the winter fair at the park pavilion?”

The smile he gets in response is Tyson’s biggest one yet. 

*****

Their afternoon outing is a success. They walk to the winter fair, and when Tyson almost slips on a bit of icy sidewalk, JT offers his arm and Tyson takes it. It feels nice to walk like this. At first, it’s a little difficult getting Tyson to talk, because apparently Omegas aren’t supposed to speak that much. At least that’s what Tyson says he was told. But after JT asks him question after question, it gets better. By the time they’re standing in front of the large ferris wheel, Tyson is almost chatty. 

JT asks him about his childhood and his mother and little sister, about Tyson working in a paper factory since he was eight and the cold winters they had up in Canada. Tyson tells him about his decision to get married to an Alpha to secure a future for his younger sister, his mother and his elderly grandparents, even though the contract forbids him from contacting them. They talk about horses, about how much Tyson loves dogs and that JT doesn’t like working in the Silver Company. JT is amazed to discover how smart and funny his new husband is; and together with his brown curls and chocolate colored eyes, the overall effect this revelation has on JT is devastating. 

They don’t go on any of the rides, but they watch the town’s children shrieking with laughter on the big carousel. When Tyson spots two little boys in ragged old coats and greasy hair watching the other kids with barely disguised envy, he looks so sad that JT immediately pulls out a few coins from his pocket and hands them to the boys. It gets a big smile out of Tyson, so it’s money well spent. 

“This was lovely, Alpha. Thank you!” Tyson says on their way home. JT has bought him a candy apple, and the colored sugar has stained Tyson’s lips all red. He looks a bit like he is wearing lipstick and for a fleeting second, JT thinks about what it would be like to kiss him. 

“Thank you for accompanying me,” he answers simply and squeezes Tyson’s hand in the crook of his arm. 

***

It’s very easy when you dread something to ignore it and simply let the days and weeks run past you. JT knows he needs to talk to Tyson and tell him about his father’s threat. He not only risks Tyson’s good fortune, but his own as well. But time goes by so quickly and everything is going so well between them that JT does not want to disturb the peace.

Every night they sleep in the same bed and every morning JT wakes up in Tyson’s arms. One night, Tyson makes a joke and then giggles in such a way that JT simply has to stare breathlessly at him for a moment. And then, before JT really registers what’s happening - Tyson kisses him right on the mouth. It’s a fleeting thing, their lips barely brushing, but it sends shivers down JT’s entire body. They both blush furiously afterwards, but now, every night without fail, Tyson will turn his face up at JT with a soft smile and they will kiss. 

They take their breakfast together every morning, and then JT goes to his office at the company and Tyson stays at home, sometimes reading in the library, sometimes going to the shops with Lauren or on a walk with either Jesse or Morgan. Once or twice, Tyson comes around the office to pick up JT for lunch, and they go and visit Gabriel’s bakery together. Tyson has taken a special liking to Mikko, ever since JT delivered the belated wedding present. Despite being from Finland, Mikko has mastered the art of the French pastry and profiteroles are his speciality. Tyson beams every time Mikko brings another profiterole creation with some exotic filling over to their table for Tyson to try. 

“So good!” Tyson always says, cheeks full of pastry cream and choux. 

“My friend, your poker face is shit,” Gabriel quietly murmurs at JT, who can’t pry his gaze away from his husband’s delight.

“Don’t you have some dough to knead?” JT mumbles back.

Their afternoons are often spent at the lake, where JT has learned that Tyson is an excellent skater. He surprised Tyson with new skates one day, thinking he could teach his husband how to skate on ice, but he should’ve known that a boy from Canada would already know. Now, they skate circles around each other and race, often sabotaging each other by starting tickle fights, because Tyson is secretly competitive and JT can’t resist teasing him about it.

The thing that surprises JT most about their marriage is the amount of talking involved. He constantly wants to ask Tyson questions, hear his opinions, tell him stories he has never told anyone else before. The urge to know everything about his husband and have his husband know everything about him is startling. Never before has he cared this much for the companionship of another human being. Now he finds that he craves Tyson’s presence during almost every hour of the day and night. The moment he realizes this, the fear of losing Tyson sparks up in JT’s heart again. 

So far, JT has dodged four dinner invitations from his father and only skimmed the reading material on heats his father sent him. It’s all horribly written of course, with lots of tips on how to “domesticate” and “break” an Omega and it makes JT sick and angry. He still has no idea on what to do regarding Tyson and the pregnancy they ought to make happen, but he started taking some measures to protect them, if only for a while. For one, he fires all his personnel apart from Lauren and Kerfoot. Most of his footmen had been hired by his father, and JT didn’t trust them for a second. Instead, he hires a young Swedish chap named André who previously worked in Gabriel’s bakery. He can’t make cinnamon buns to save his life, but it turns out that he’s a decent servant. There is another footman, Cale, who looks twelve years old but who has taken command over the kitchen and housekeeping like he’s a veteran. 

Lauren found two new maids, as well as a cook and a scullion, in a home for unmarried mothers. JT arranged for them and their children to come live in the house. Now they alternate their work days so that one of them can look after the children while the other three work. JT wasn’t so sure of Lauren’s idea at first, but it is hard to counter her argument that he would never find more loyal and hard-working servants than these women. 

Tyson meanwhile slowly blossoms into a smiling, talking, polite man instead of the scared, cowering Omega he was on the day of their wedding. His laughter often fills the entire house and he never whispers or stares at the floor anymore. Instead he speaks in a quiet, dark voice that often makes JT smile for no reason at all. Lauren shoots them amused looks on a daily basis now. 

“He is a good one,” she once told JT in an undertone when Tyson was building snowmen with the servants’ kids in the backyard and JT watched from his library window, a lit pipe in his hand and a stupid smile lingering on his face. 

“Omega Tyson?” he asked her.

“Omega Tyson?” she parroted him with a grin. “No, the Prince of Egypt!” She ruffled his hair and stole the whiskey glass from his hand. 

“I love you like a little brother but Christ, you are a bad actor,” she said and left with a laugh.

“I should fire you for insolent behavior!” JT shouted after her. “And stop stealing my drinks!” 

***

Of course it can’t stay this peaceful forever. And so, two weeks after the last invitation to dinner, JT’s father corners him in his office at the Silver Company.

“You and your Omega are expected at our house on Saturday evening,” his father hisses into JT’s face. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but this stops now. I will not be ignored.”

“Yes sir,” JT replies through gritted teeth and turns to leave.

“Have you gotten him pregnant yet?” his father asks.

“I’m working on it,” JT says without turning back towards his father.

“I bet you are,” his father says and even though he can’t see his father’s face, JT knows that there is a smirk on it.

He can barely get anything down at dinner that night, even though their cook made a lovely roast with mashed potatoes and chocolate pudding for dessert. Tyson has gained a little weight and it suits him; his eyes look less sunken and his cheeks less hollow. He’s telling a story about Lauren discovering some kittens in the garden shed and deciding they had to be killed, only to be too soft-hearted to actually go through with it. None of the other servants wanted to do it either, so now the servants’ kids have one kitten each.

“Last I checked they were named Pancake, Simon, Queen Victoria, and Robinson Crusoe” Tyson says with a little giggle and JT smiles distractedly at him. He has thought about what to do all day and apart from telling Tyson the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth he has not yet come up with a solution.

“Alpha, don’t be cross but- are you quite alright? Are you feeling unwell? You’ve barely spoken tonight,” Tyson says with a frown. JT sighs. 

“There is- a situation with my father,” he starts and then stops when Cale comes in to clear the table. JT waits until he is out of the room again to continue. This conversation is not exactly meant for company.

“My father threatened me a while back. On our wedding night actually. You know, when I- when I yelled at you so horribly,” JT says with a grimace. Tyson just nods.

“He said I had to get you with child, because if I didn’t then- then-” JT takes another swig from his wine glass. “If I failed to get you pregnant, then he would do it. Get you pregnant I mean.” JT sweeps a hand over his eyes and then looks up at Tyson, who’s gone very pale. His lips are pressed into a thin line and quivering slightly, but he holds JT’s gaze steadily. 

“I don’t know what to do,” JT whispers. “I have thought about this from every angle, but- our plan of pretending I’m infertile won’t work anymore. I just don’t know what to do.”

“You put a baby in me,” Tyson says and the world stops.

“Wh- what?”

“You put a baby in me.” Tyson repeats, carefully putting his silverware down on his plate. “You are my husband. You are a good and smart Alpha and you have never treated me poorly apart from yelling at me once. Which- I understand it a little better now that you have explained,” Tyson smiles a tiny smile at JT, who has to swallow against the emotions that are climbing up inside his chest. 

“I know many people don’t think Omegan marriages are real marriages but to me you are my husband,” Tyson adds calmly. “I chose to marry you and so far I have yet to regret it. And I would much rather have your child than that of anyone else in the world.”

“Tyson,” JT says after he has tried to compose himself for a few moments, “if I get you pregnant, we will be connected in some fashion for the rest of our lives.” Tyson smiles another smile and puts his hand on top of JT’s hand on the table. 

“I could think of far worse things than that,” he says.

*******

Usually they retire to the library or the salon after dinner to play cards with Lauren, read, or entertain guests. Tonight, however, is Lauren’s night off, so they retire to their bedchamber entirely too early. There is a prickly, fizzing energy between them and JT has a weird pulling sensation from his groin to the underside of his ribcage. His entire torso feels like it‘s filled with snakes, but in a strangely good way. 

The maids have lit a fire in the fireplace and drawn the curtains for the night. The lamps on the bedside tables are lit, but Tyson goes and turns them out, so the room is plunged into semi-darkness and all the light is coming from the flickering flames of the fire. He turns back to JT and they look at each other in silence. 

“I- I don’t really know how to start,” Tyson says quietly. “I was only told that my part is to get undressed and lie face down on the bed. But you got mad at me when I did that the last time, so-” he falls silent. 

“Have you- have you ever done this before? Marital relations, I mean?” JT asks. Tyson shakes his head. 

“Have you?” he asks back. JT nods. 

“Once. On my travels in Europe.” Tyson looks at him strangely and cocks his head. 

“Is it nice?” he asks. JT smiles and nods. 

“Yes. Yes, it really is.” 

“They told me it hurts a lot for Omegas,” Tyson says, nervously fingering the buttons on his shirt. JT frowns.

“I can’t believe that that’s true,” he finally answers. “But- will you promise me to tell me if it does hurt you? Please?” The corners of Tyson’s mouth tick upwards a little at JT’s request and he takes a few steps towards JT until they are standing very close in front of each other. Tyson very gently puts his right hand on the side of JT’s face.

“You are a very kind man, Alpha,” he says. “I trust you.” JT swallows hard. There are so many emotions inside of him and he can’t for the life of him find the words to express any of them. Instead, he leans forward and captures Tyson’s mouth in a kiss. 

They’ve kissed many times, but mostly shy, tentative kisses right before going to sleep. Now, there is a new urgency to it that has never been there before. It feels like they should have been kissing this way forever; JT coaxing Tyson’s mouth open with his lips and then slipping his tongue inside. Tyson is making delicious little sounds, sliding his arms around JT’s neck as JT pulls him closer and angles their heads so he can kiss him more deeply. 

JT feels Tyson is a little hesitant at first, but when Tyson starts to experimentally bite JT’s lower lip only to soothe the sting with his tongue, JT growls with arousal and excitement. He can feel his husband shivering against him at the sound, and then Tyson’s fingers are at his waistcoat, unbuttoning it clumsily and sliding it off JT’s shoulders. 

His shirt comes off next and he has to look down at Tyson’s hands sliding the buttons through their holes. JT can see the outline of Tyson’s cock through his pants and feels another pulling sensation inside his ribcage. Then Tyson slides JT’s shirt off his shoulders and looks up, his gaze hungry. They’re kissing again before JT knows what’s happening, Tyson’s tongue exploring his mouth and making JT’s toes curl from overwhelming pleasure. 

JT is convinced he could kiss Tyson for a thousand hours and still not have enough. The pleasant smell of cinnamon and snow that JT has come to associate with his husband fills the air of their bedroom, heavy on the cinnamon and so warm and spicy it makes JT’s mouth water. He will never be able to eat another one of Gabriel’s cinnamon buns ever again without having some very improper thoughts. Then Tyson crowds him against the side of the bed, they fall onto the mattress, and JT stops thinking altogether. 

There are more clothes to get rid of, and an especially soft looking spot right under Tyson’s chin that JT absolutely has to explore with his tongue. Tyson’s hands are roaming up and down JT’s bare back, goosebumps sprouting everywhere they touch. JT comes to lie in the vee of Tyson’s hips and shifts until their cocks are brushing together through the thin fabric of their drawers. 

“Alpha,” Tyson pants and then gets distracted by JT’s mouth again.

“Anything,” JT whispers back. “Anything you want, my love.” 

“You,” Tyson gasps as JT grinds down against him, making Tyson buck up and then shoot hot and wet between them with a muffled shout. JT stares at his husband, mesmerized, taking in the way Tyson’s thrown his head back on the pillow, the way sweat makes his dark curls stick to his forehead, and how tightly Tyson’s hands are gripping JT’s arms. 

JT is almost beside himself with arousal, peppering Tyson’s face with kisses, sliding down and pulling down his husband’s sticky drawers as he goes before throwing them somewhere behind him. Tyson is just lying there, panting and still coming back to himself, so JT takes a moment to look his fill, sliding his hand up Tyson’s legs and feeling the hairs on his thighs and the soft skin underneath. Tyson’s cock is lying on his belly, spent and soft. There is something glistening underneath Tyson’s balls and JT curiously slides his hand towards his husband’s ample behind only to find Tyson has slicked up so much that it’s created a wet spot on the bed sheets. 

JT curses under his breath. He’d found out about this when he was reading up on Omegas. He knows they only have one opening down there, just like an Alpha male but they slick up when they get aroused, like a woman would. What JT didn’t know was how enticing it looked or how good it smelled. He leans down, breathing in deeply and experimentally noses against Tyson’s cock, prompting Tyson to moan softly and tangle his right hand in JT’s hair. JT places a tiny kiss against the head of his husband’s cock and then starts licking up the mess around it while he circles Tyson’s hole with his fingers. Tyson is so wet that JT can slip two fingers inside easily, which earns him a sharp intake of breath from above and then Tyson squirms a little, pushing downwards to get JT deeper. 

“Fuck,” JT breathes. He rarely swears, but this situation surely warrants the use of such language. 

“Alpha,” Tyson whines. His cock is rapidly hardening again and JT suddenly realizes how close he himself is from coming untouched at the sight of his husband’s pleasure. He pulls out his fingers, which earns him a protesting squeak, and almost rips off his own drawers. 

“My love,” he whispers, “I’m gonna- I’m gonna enter you now, alright?” Tyson just nods with his eyes closed and his head still thrown back. JT uses some of Tyson’s slick to lube up his cock with shaking hands, takes a deep breath, and then slowly and carefully pushes in, checking his husband’s face for any signs of discomfort.

Tyson doesn’t show signs of pain at all. Instead he lets out a sound somewhere between a mewl and a sob that has JT bending down to kiss him, before he tentatively starts to move. Every time he thrusts his hips, he coaxes another beautiful sound out of his husband, who has screwed his eyes tightly shut, his hands pressed firmly against JT’s chest above him. JT can feel his own arousal rise like a wave and tries desperately to hold it off as he reaches for Tyson’s cock. He wants to feel Tyson come again, this time while he’s inside of him. 

Tyson is moaning and gasping now, his legs curled tightly around JT’s hips. JT changes his position slightly, getting his knees underneath him a bit more, and apparently hitting just the right spot on the next push. Tyson’s eyes fly open and he lets out a scream as he spills between them for the second time, fingers buried in JT’s hair. JT can feel him contracting around his cock and that’s what pushes him over the edge at last, spilling his seed deep inside his husband, his face pressed into the crook of Tyson’s neck, breathing in cinnamon and snow. 

*******

It takes a while for them to come back to. JT recovers first and gently pulls out, quelling Tyson’s whimpers with a gentle kiss.

“I’m just going to clean us up a bit,” he whispers as he gets up and fetches a wet cloth from the bathroom. He cleans himself, before rinsing the cloth and bringing it back to the bed to gently wipe down Tyson. JT nudges him to roll over and cleans up Tyson as well before throwing the cloth back in the direction of the bathroom, nudging Tyson away from the spot where the bed sheets are damp before crawling in behind him and pulling the duvet over them. They end up on their sides, JT hugging Tyson from behind with his hand low on Tyson’s belly. Tyson places his own hand on top of it and they lie like this in silence for a while.

It’s JT who speaks first.

“Did you like it?” he asks quietly, his heart thumping inside his throat. Tyson nods his head.

“Yes, Alpha,” he answers. “Very much. I- I didn’t know-” Tyson takes a deep breath. JT can feel his chest move against him. 

“I never knew I could feel like this,” Tyson finishes very quietly. 

“Me neither” JT replies as he strokes his thumb gently over the skin underneath Tyson’s belly button. 

“But I thought you had done this before,” Tyson says. 

“Not like this,” JT replies simply. They both fall silent, eventually drifting off to sleep with the crackling of the fire as the only sound in their bedroom. 

*******

JT is surprised at how much their night of passion changes everything. For one thing, they can barely keep their hands off each other after. JT wakes the next morning to his husband peppering his face and neck with kisses, which leads to some more serious kissing and before JT knows it, he slips back into Tyson, who embraces him with a moan and wraps his legs around JT’s waist just like the night before, guiding him into a steady rhythm. It’s all over far too quickly for JT’s liking, but they end up cleaning themselves in the large copper bathtub, which leads to another round of enthusiastic touching of the marital kind. JT is unbelievably late for work that morning.

Tyson picks him up for lunch a few hours later, and they spend it at Gabriel’s, playing footsie underneath the cover of a white table cloth. Afterwards, there are a few exciting kisses to be exchanged behind the locked door of JT’s office before Tyson leaves with a sigh, looking adorably disheveled. 

That night they only play one round of cards with Lauren and Kerfoot before Tyson claims to be tired and they retire to their bedchamber. Tyson goes to his knees right inside the room, pressing JT’s back to the door and pulling down his trousers. He looks up with a hint of hesitation in his gaze and JT is forcibly reminded of their wedding day and the way Tyson’s kneeling had prompted horrible feelings of guilt and shame in JT. This kneeling is so different and JT voices absolutely no complaints as Tyson gently takes JT’s cock in his mouth, looks up at him through his lashes and then makes JT completely lose his mind.

After their spectacular first night, JT hadn’t really expected a learning curve and is amazed to discover that his assumptions were wrong. They get incredibly good at pleasuring each other, learning what the other one enjoys and how their bodies work together. JT comes home for a very pleasurable lunch break on Friday, which is spent in their bedroom where JT guides Tyson over to the antique dresser with the mirror hanging over it and slides into his husband’s clinging heat from behind. Being able to see Tyson’s pleasure in the mirror makes it a very quick affair for JT, and he pulls out and turns Tyson around after he has finished, going down on his knees and using his mouth on his husband until Tyson follows him over the edge. 

Their house is a big one, but neither Tyson nor JT are silent when they’re in the throes of passion. The looks they get from Lauren, Kerfoot, and even the other members of staff would be embarrassing if they weren’t both so blissfully happy with this new development in their relationship. JT still worries from time to time that he is in some way taking advantage of his husband, but Tyson seems not only willing but decidedly eager, often initiating their lovemaking and seeking out ways to touch JT. Whenever they lie in bed, Tyson snuggles up close, demanding cuddles or his hair to be played with. JT is more than happy to oblige. 

Their newfound passion even lets them float with relative ease through the dreaded dinner invitation on Saturday. JT’s father has invited his old friend Mr. Cherry, who JT and his sisters have hated ever since they knew how to dislike people. With his flamboyant suits and impeccable beard, he looked like a fun man to be around, yet he was one of the vilest creatures JT has ever encountered. Cherry doesn’t even try to greet Tyson, just looks at him in a way that makes the hairs on the back of JT’s neck stand up and says “Canadian, eh? Good strong gene material. Good choice, Robert!” to JT’s father, as if Tyson were a particularly nice new dog that JT’s father bought. 

They pass half an hour in the salon, where JT’s mother downs her usual amount of gin mixed with tonic water and JT’s sisters do their best to distract JT and Tyson from the rest of the dinner party with smalltalk about an upcoming ball. As much as JT despises Mr. Cherry, he is glad for his presence after dinner; JT and Tyson can make their excuses fairly early instead of JT having to endure another talk with his father on the matter of pregnancy and an heir to the family company. His mother is almost cross-eyed and reeking of gin by the time JT kisses her hand goodbye, and for the millionth time he worries about what being in this environment will do to his younger sisters. 

Tyson lifts JT’s right arm as soon as they are inside the carriage and crawls underneath it, resting his head on JT’s shoulder. JT smiles fondly down at him and presses a kiss into Tyson’s hair.

“You know,” Tyson says quietly while they are rolling through the quiet, dark streets back home, “I have never known a home as scary as your parents’.” JT blinks at him in surprise. Tyson looks up to meet his gaze and JT is shocked to see tears shimmering in his husband’s eyes.

“I am so glad you had Lauren,” Tyson whispers and wipes his sleeve across his face. “Because my heart breaks for the little boy you once were and I can’t believe what a wonderful man he became,” Tyson finishes. JT is speechless for a moment before he hugs Tyson close enough to pull him onto his lap, JT’s nose pressed against the skin of his throat, breathing in his husband's signature scent of cinnamon and snow. 

That night they make love slowly and quietly, holding hands with intertwined fingers and breathing into each other’s mouths. When JT nears the peak of his pleasure, he feels the strange urge to bite his husband’s neck, but instead presses his lips to Tyson’s throat in a passionate kiss that leaves a purple bruise. JT figures they need to give the staff something to talk about.

*******

It takes almost a fortnight of passionate lovemaking until a thought pops into JT’s head. He’s no expert on women, but he grew up with two sisters and Lauren. He’s been educated on women even if he never asked for it, so he knows about the monthly bleeding most women have to suffer, and about what it means when that bleeding doesn’t come. What he doesn’t know is how the hell it all works for an Omega.

“Tys,” he says one morning over breakfast, when all staff are momentarily out of the room, “how do we- how do you know? If you are with child, I mean. Is there a sign or something?”

Tyson stares at him for a second before blushing violently and looking down at his plate. JT instinctively reaches out over the table and takes Tyson’s hand in his.

“I’m sorry to ask such a personal thing, I just- I don’t know and-”

“It’s quite alright,” Tyson says quietly. “It’s just a strange thing to talk about over bacon and eggs.” JT chuckles and even Tyson’s mouth is curving upwards slightly.

“Basically,” Tyson says and finally looks up at JT. “Omegas can feel when they are, with child, I mean. At least that’s what I was told. That I would feel it. And when I do, a female doctor or midwife must assess me and make sure that I actually am.” JT frowns at this declaration.

“A female doctor?” he asks. Tyson nods.

“Yes. No other man is allowed to see me down there apart from you. Not even a doctor.” 

“But-” JT says, “Doctor Zadorov is the only physician we have. And he has seen many womenfolk’s nethers. He’s an excellent doctor.”

“A female doctor,” Tyson repeats, crossing his arms and jutting out his chin. JT sighs and nods, secretly enjoying the fact that ever since he came into his own, Tyson stubbornly expresses opinions. Other men might be annoyed with their spouses for something like this, but JT can’t help but be pleased. At least they won’t get bored with each other he thinks as he gets up, rounds the table to kiss Tyson goodbye and then leaves for work. 

*******

The matter of a doctor comes up much quicker than they both expect it to, because a few days later Tyson falls through the ice while they’re skating. It happens in the second JT turns his back on Tyson to check his pocket watch for the time. He hears a crack like a whip and a splash and the next thing he knows is that he scrambles across the ice towards his flailing, shrieking husband in the water. There is a sharp-edged fear that splits JT’s heart so violently that it makes it hard for him to breathe as he pulls a shivering Tyson out of the pond, wraps him into both their coats and hurries him home. 

Tyson is put into a hot bath and then into bed with a warm brick at his feet. JT knows he’s fussing, but he can’t stop himself, even when Tyson tells him that he’s fine over and over again. The next morning Tyson wakes with a sore throat and a rattling cough that makes JT want to sob. 

“It’s quite alright, really, Alpha!” Tyson says in between sneezing and another coughing fit. “Just a little cold, it’ll be over before we know it.”

“I’ll get you another hot tea from the kitchen,” JT replies and bustles out of the room. 

He smiles gratefully at Anna, their cook, when she hands him another pot full of steaming peppermint tea and a jar filled with honey that she had already set aside. 

Tyson develops a fever the next night, shivering and sweating next to JT, soaking their bedsheets. JT doesn’t sleep a wink, and at around 5 o'clock in the morning, he goes to wake Kerfoot.

“Can you get Zadorov, please?” he asks, eyes wide with fear. Kerfoot doesn’t even mock his trembling voice, he just nods and gets dressed. 

“Tell him- in case he has a female assistant, now would be the perfect time to bring her along,” JT adds just before Kerfoot is out the door.

“Female assistant?” Kerfoot asks, confused. “I don’t think such a thing exists in Denver, but I’ll ask.”

Zadorov arrives alone, an hour later. It’s still pitch black outside, but the lamps on their bedside tables are lit and there is a fire crackling merrily in the crate. JT is keeping their bedroom as warm as possible, since Tyson is shivering up a storm. 

“Too hot,” are Zadorov’s first words when he enters the room. “Open window, please.” 

“But-” JT says and immediately quiets when Zadorov shoots him a look. The doctor usually knows best, even if JT doesn’t like it. So he dutifully opens one of the windows a crack before hurrying back to Tyson’s side.

“Tys, my love, the doctor is here,” he says gently, pushing some of his husband’s sweaty hair from his face. “I know you said no male doctor, but he is the only one we have. Do you think we could maybe make an exception for him?” Tyson looks at Zadorov doubtfully, sneezes and then turns his head back to JT.

“He can examine me,” Tyson whispers, “but nothing inside my drawers.”

“That is shame,” Zadorov replies with a wink and gets out his stethoscope. “I’m hear your husband is very fascinated with what is in there.”

JT vows to murder their doctor right after he has cured Tyson.

It turns out that Tyson just has a very bad cold. Dr. Zadorov prescribes chicken soup and hot water with lemon juice and honey, and then hands JT a jar with menthol rub to put on Tyson’s chest before telling them he’ll be back that night. He also makes at least four other jokes about JT, and gets a laugh out of Tyson for the last one, before tutting when Tyson dissolves into another coughing fit. 

“Laughter is best medicine.” Zadorov says, thumping sympathetically on Tyson’s back. JT can see Tyson wince a little and without realising it at first, he bares his teeth at Zadorov before quickly trying to reign himself in. He can see Zadorov’s eyes widen in surprise and then back off Tyson with a curious smile around his mouth. When JT brings him to the front door a bit later, Zadorov stops him with a hand on his arm. 

“Did not know you in love with husband,” he says in an undertone. “Thought this only for producing baby and pleasing papa. Is very good that you love, heh? Am much happy for you. Congratulations, my friend.” JT is too surprised to answer anything as Zadorov tips his hat and accepts his coat from one of the maids, before slipping out into the winter morning.

“Sir?” their maid, Betty, asks.

“Huh?” JT is momentarily ripped from his thoughts.

“Sir, I- I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry, but I overheard you saying that Omega Compher needs a female to- to look at him like a doctor would.”

“Yes?” JT says, wrinkling his brow in confusion. “What about it?”

“Well,” Betty answers, wringing her hands nervously, “I’m guessing that will be the case when- if- when a baby comes.” She speaks very quietly and rapidly now. 

“I- Helen, the scullion, she- in the home, she delivered every baby. She’s real good, you know, delivered my Johnny and everything. Maybe- if you think- maybe she could help the doctor when the time comes.” She finishes with a nervous little smile and looks back up at JT.

JT is momentarily stunned by so much thought and foresight from their staff and then nods and smiles at Betty.

“You know, that idea isn’t half bad. I’ll think about it. Thank you, Betty.” Betty smiles another nervous smile, curtsies and then hurries back to the kitchen, while JT climbs the stairs to their bedroom, his head filled with things to consider. 

*******

That night as he lies next to a gently snoring Tyson, JT thinks about Zadorov’s words. Is he really in love with Tyson? He honestly couldn’t say for certain. Sure, he likes his husband, wants to protect him from harm and be good to him, but you could say the same thing about his friends. Like Gabriel. Or EJ. Or Kerfoot and Lauren. Whom he hasn’t spent particularly much time with since Tyson came into his life, JT thinks with a stab of guilt. But then again, he and Tyson have a task at their hands. Getting Tyson pregnant is imperative if they want to keep Tyson safe. 

But that doesn’t explain all the hours they spend together in the library; Tyson practicing his reading by reciting to JT, sitting on the floor and leaning his back on JT’s legs, JT’s hands buried in his hair. Nor does it explain their excursions out on the lake, skating and tickling each other and trying to stuff snow down each other’s trousers. It doesn’t explain all the kissing and touching, the fleeting glances and the shared smiles. None of that is essential to making a baby, JT thinks as he watches his husband’s profile in the fading light of the last glowing embers in the fireplace. Tyson is snuffling a little in his sleep, squirming and rearranging himself so he is pressed even closer to JT’s side. 

JT swears he can feel his heart expand in that moment, to make room for all the feelings that rise to the surface inside his chest.

“Oh,” he thinks. “Oh, shit.”

He’s in love with his husband.

*******

JT chooses to ignore it for now. Yes, there are things to be reconsidered and he should probably talk to Tyson about this, but for now the important thing is that Tyson gets better. Thankfully, Tyson’s fever finally breaks the following day, and JT breathes a sigh of relief when Tyson gets up to sit by the fire a little that evening. He still looks peaked and pale, with dark rings under his eyes and a rattling cough that makes JT’s hair stand on end.

“You don’t have to be so uneasy, Alpha,” Tyson says with a smile, gently stroking JT’s hand with his. JT has moved the other armchair as close as possible so he can put his hand on Tyson’s thigh as they look into the fire. Behind them, their maid Sophia is changing the bed sheets and airing the room, as instructed by Dr. Zadorov. The cold air from the window makes JT nervous, even though they sit close to the fire, so he’s wrapped Tyson into a thick wool blanket and uses his own body as some sort of shield between Tyson and the frigid streams of air from the window.

“That’s what you say,” JT grumbles as he shoots Sophia a look to hurry the hell up. Sophia ignores him. “Are you sure you’re warm enough?” JT asks again.

“Yes, Alpha,” Tyson answers and ducks his head to hide his smile. “You’re taking very good care of me. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” JT bristles. “Any husband would do that. Especially for someone like you.” Tyson looks up at his words and cocks his head a little. JT can feel a blush creep up his neck, so he busies himself with putting another log on the fire. When he sits back, Tyson immediately reaches for one of JT’s hands and gently puts his head on JT’s shoulder with a little sigh. 

“Are you alright?” JT asks, instantly worried.

“Perfect, Alpha,” Tyson replies. 

JT doesn’t realize it at once, but Tyson starts making a sound - the same sound he made on their wedding night, the one that lulled him to sleep. It sounds a bit like a cat when it’s comfortable. A sort of purring that makes something warm and calm spread inside JT’s body. He feels himself relax, his hands unclenching, his shoulders sagging a bit. He could sit here forever, with the fire crackling in front of them and Tyson’s warm body by his side. It feels like they’re sitting inside a warm bubble in which only they and that comforting purring sound exist. 

JT doesn’t register Sophia closing the windows behind them, finishing with the bedding, and then leaving the room with a curtsey. Everything that isn’t the two of them is inconsequential, really. The passage of time, the dinner bell ringing downstairs, the footsteps on the stairs and the little knock on their bedroom door. It can all wai-

“JT,” Lauren says, and JT almost falls out of his armchair. The purring has stopped, the bubble burst and Tyson is blushing furiously next to him, almost as if Lauren caught them doing something indecent. 

“I am very sorry to interrupt,” Lauren says with raised eyebrows, “but dinner is ready and Dr. Zadorov has instructed me to get some broth into Omega Tyson or else he’ll be very cross with me, which, I’d like to see him try, but either way.”

“Oh. Yes, sure, sorry,” JT says hastily and gets up. “I don’t know what- sorry, we’ll be right down.” Lauren nods and leaves them but not before shooting JT another inscrutable look.

“Do you think you could get downstairs if I helped you along?” JT gently asks Tyson. Tyson won’t look at him properly but nods and gets to his feet. JT fetches his house coat to put over Tyson’s pyjamas and soon they are settled in the dining room, eating one of Anna’s delicious dinners. Zadorov arrives by the end of it, loudly exclaiming over the return of color in Tyson’s cheeks. Tyson is still busy eating and talking to Lauren about whatever happened in town that week, so JT decides to use the opportunity to talk to Z about something in private.

“Lauren very good at picking furniture for room,” Zadorov says as he looks around the library. “You sure she not interested if I ask her out for tea and cakes?”

“Haven’t we been over this?” JT sighs and closes the door behind them. He pours them both a whiskey as Zadorov settles in one of the chairs in front of his desk. 

“She turned you down, what was it? Five times now? Don’t you think you should give it up by now?”

“Never,” Zadorov says and grins as he accepts his drink. “I’m- what was word? Menace! That’s what Landeskog calls me. Menace!” JT chuckles and sits down behind his desk. There are piles of paperwork on it that he didn’t get to during the past few days. It will have to wait a little bit longer. 

“I wanted to talk to you about childbirth,” JT finally says and takes a sip. Zadorov’s eyebrows shoot up.

“So you get husband pre-”

“No,” JT interrupts him. “Not yet.” 

Zadorov snorts. “But you try real hard, no?” JT levels him with a stare but Zadorov grins on, unperturbed. 

“Anyways,” JT says, “I don’t really know what to expect. I read a little about it, but apart from finding out that Omega births are relatively easy, I can’t really find anything. Nothing on pregnancy itself either. Tyson just said that he would know.” Zadorov nods thoughtfully.

“Not surprise to me. Is not much written about Omegas and babies. Many people don’t get doctor for Omega birth. If Omega dies, they just get new one. They not want to pay money for doctor.” Zadorov shakes his head sadly. 

“I only do one Omega birth but it is horrible. The Omega not want me touching or looking, but family force me. I’m still very young so I do what they tell me and the Omega cry a lot. At least the Omega and the baby are healthy afterwards, but I’m never do that again.” Zadorov swallows hard and looks up, face pale and serious. 

“Since then I’m never have another Omega patient, so I’m little scared what happen when you and your Omega-” Zadorov stops and takes another sip of his whiskey. “I’m want to help. Very much. But I tell you right now, I’m not do anything that Omega Tyson don’t want.” There is a short silence. 

“Our maid Betty had an idea,” JT finally says with a small smile. 

*******

Helen the scullion is brought to meet Dr. Zadorov a few days later. They are in their bedroom, Tyson lying on the freshly made bed in comfortable trousers and an old wool sweater of JT’s that’s become his favorite. His cold is almost gone by now and he looks much healthier than just a few days before. He still doesn’t really have an appetite and has been sleeping a lot, which makes JT a little suspicious, but Tyson insists he is simply exhausted from the cold. 

“Always worrying,” he had said the night before, teasing JT gently as the two of them lay in bed. Tyson had then given him a chaste kiss before snuggling against him and falling asleep. JT had wrapped his arm around Tyson and tried to follow him into unconsciousness, but his thoughts kept him awake a while longer. Tyson was right, he was probably getting ahead of himself with all his worrying and overthinking, but he would still get Dr. Zadorov to pop in tomorrow. Better safe than sorry, Lauren always said. 

Now Lauren and JT are both standing next to the bed as Zadorov shakes Helen’s trembling hand and smiles warmly at her.

“Mr. Compher tell me you very good at helping babies be born.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Sir,” Helen mumbles and curtsies again. She looks pale and nervous, but when Zadorov asks her a few questions about the births she assisted, she relaxes a bit. 

JT is sent to fetch a blanket to be put over Tyson’s lower body, covering him from just underneath his belly button to his toes. He has to take off his pants underneath and push up his shirt and sweater, revealing his milky white belly. Zadorov resolutely turns his back as he instructs Helen to feel Tyson’s lower abdomen and tell him - in great detail - what she feels. Tyson, who looked nervous when this examination started, relaxes visibly the longer it proceeds. JT sits next to him on the edge of the bed and holds his hand while Helen’s practised hands move over Tyson’s belly. 

Afterwards, Zadorov hands Tyson a glass vial which he has to fill up with urine in the bathroom. JT has to suppress a giggle at Tyson’s indignant facial expression, but he dutifully gets up and goes to the bathroom while Lauren fetches his pants for him. When they come back, Zadorov drops a bit of greyish powder into the vial which he then grips with metal tongs and holds over the fire in the fireplace.

“Is very easy with Omegas,” he explains to Helen and the room at large. Tyson and JT have taken a seat on the little bench at the foot end of their bed. Lauren is standing a bit further back, keeping a firm distance between her and Zadorov, who is still regularly winking at her. JT makes a mental note to have someone - preferably not him but maybe Gabe or EJ - tell Zadorov that Lauren lost her heart to a very good looking country singer from Nashville a while ago. 

Every time Colin Wilson and his band play in the dance hall downtown, Lauren can be found at a tiny round table right in front of the stage, ignoring every offer to dance and instead listening to the band playing their songs. JT is pretty sure that Lauren at least thought about running away with Mr. Wilson, but so far her conscientiousness has kept her here.

JT turns his head back to the conversation in time to hear Dr. Zadorov explain what he is doing.

“Women cannot be sure if they pregnant or if monthly bleeding stop for other reason,” he says. “And many believe that Omegas and women just know when they with child. But is not always true.” Tyson squeezes JT’s hand as Z continues. 

“But with Omega there is something in urine that react to zinc if they pregnant. If you put a little bit of zinc powder in and then heat it over fire, it react,” Zadorov says. JT can feel his own pulse quickening as his eyes zoom in on the vial. 

“And if Omega pregnant, then it turn-”, Zadorov says, lifting the tongs with the vial with a wide grin.

“-purple,” he says as the light from their bedroom chandelier catches in the lilac liquid inside the vial.

*******

Years later, JT will remember hardly anything about this day. Everything sort of melts together in a haze of happiness, after Zadorov tells them the good news. JT will remember the look of utter joy on Tyson’s face and the kiss they share when everybody else is busy bustling around sending for Gabriel to bring fresh cinnamon buns and for Kerfoot to fetch JT’s sisters. Lauren produces two bottles of champagne from God knows where and they all toast the new baby downstairs in the salon. Zadorov stays for a quick drink before taking his leave, with EJ and Gabriel arriving with Mikko in tow just as he leaves, and bringing even more champagne and, in EJ’s case, sour candies for the staff’s children. 

Everybody, staff and guests alike, eat dinner together that day at the large table in the dining room. It takes some time, but André eventually sits down at the piano in the salon, having managed to escape all the children running around, and plays every song the group can collectively come up with. The music is followed by others taking turns dancing wildly through the room. JT sits next to a laughing Tyson who jokes around and chats with JT’s sisters, the staff and EJ, Gabe and Mikko, one hand always protectively cradling his belly, the other hand grasping one of JT’s. 

JT has wondered, sometimes, whether things would change between them after he got Tyson pregnant. They would have reached their goal of protecting Tyson, which would mean there was no more need to share a bed or have marital relations. 

But when they retire to bed late that night, JT’s worries seem silly when Tyson’s arm wrap around him as he kisses him the second they get in the room. JT immediately kisses back, deeply and slowly, sucking on Tyson’s tongue and gently biting his lips until they’re red and puffy. When he pulls away, Tyson’s eyes are glassy with pleasure. 

They don’t turn on the lights as they make their way to the bed, undressing each other without uttering a single word and sliding under the duvet. JT kisses Tyson again and again and it’s the easiest thing in the world to roll between his husband’s open legs and slide into Tyson’s slick warmth while Tyson throws his head back into the pillows, mouth wide open in a silent gasp. They know how to move together now, pleasure making Tyson whimper quietly into every feverish kiss JT presses to his mouth. JT knows that his husband likes to control the rhythm, but he also likes to be held down gently while JT thrusts in and out of him. 

It feels a bit like a dream to lie together like this so quietly, the rustling of the bedsheets and their slick bodies the only sounds in the room. Tyson comes first, almost imperceptibly, contracting around JT and exhaling on a contented little sigh. JT follows him over the edge without even realizing it at first, spilling deeply into Tyson. They fall asleep like that, JT’s softening cock just barely slipped out of Tyson and their arms wrapped around each other in a tight embrace. 

They wake up the next morning to another snow storm and take it as the perfect excuse to spend a little more time in bed together. After breakfast, when the snow has let up, Tyson gets picked up by JT’s sisters for a shopping trip in the town, which Tyson has been excited about ever since they mentioned it. 

Not that he ever really buys much even though JT told him to get whatever he fancies. He usually comes back with some candy for the children or embroidery thread for the women in the household. Sometimes he’ll stop by Gabe’s bakery and buy something for JT. He never indulges himself by buying anything, no matter how often JT tells him he can.

JT waves Tyson and his sisters off as their carriage pulls away from the curb and goes to sit down at his desk in the library. With Tyson’s illness, the pregnancy announcement, and married life, he’s barely had time to work and he shudders at the thought of his father finding out about it. With a sigh he pulls the closest document nearer and starts to read.

Three hours later JT is just about ready to kill somebody in cold blood. He pushes the last letter away from him and rubs his eyes as Lauren enters the room with two cups of coffee on a tray. 

“Oh my God, I love you!” JT moans when she puts down one of the cups in front of him. “Thank you!”

Lauren smiles and sits down in one of the chairs in front of his desk with the other cup in her hand. She looks tired; and JT realizes with a stab of guilt that he hasn’t spoken to her properly in weeks. Pretty much ever since he and Tyson started to spend more time together. Either his guilt must show on his face or Lauren is a mind reader, but she shakes her head with another smile.

“Stop looking like that. You spend time with your husband, it’s perfectly normal for us not to be in each other’s pockets all day.”

“Yes, but-” JT starts.

“No buts. You’re young and in love, and that’s-”

“How do you know I’m in love?” JT blurts out. He can feel his skin heat up and quickly looks down into his coffee cup. 

“I mean-” he says and clears his throat, “Zadorov said the same thing and- am I that obvious?”

Lauren’s voice sounds softer than usual when she answers him. Usually they tease each other about pretty much everything. But now she sounds almost unbearably kind, like a mother explaining the world to her child. 

“Zadorov has known you for a long time, Joseph,” she says. “I have known you for even longer. I can see it in the way you look at him and care for him and talk to him. At first I thought you were simply being kind, but then I saw the love enter your marriage. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s wonderful. Especially when he loves you right back.” 

JT snaps his head up to stare at her.

“You don’t know that!” he half shouts, accidentally spilling coffee on his trousers. “Why- How could you possibly know that?” Lauren snorts. 

“Jimothy Timothy, you are kind but not too bright, I’m afraid.” The teasing tone in her voice is back. “I thought you read all about Omegas and their ways. For Christ’s sake, he purred for you the other day!” 

JT looks at her in confusion. 

“So?” he asks.

“So,” she says, stretching the word mockingly. “Omegas only purr for people they feel a deep connection with. Like their parents or their children. Or - in the case of a happy marriage - their spouse. It’s very rare and an incredible honor to have an Omega purr for you. Some people claim it can heal you from ailments and chase away nightmares.” There’s a slight pause. JT can hear the logs in the fireplace pop. 

“B- but he did that purring thing on our wedding night,” JT says with a confused frown. “And he didn’t even know me then. He couldn’t have loved me.” 

“Maybe not love. Not then. Back then it was maybe just affection. But the other day when I walked in on you two, that was love - plain and simple,” Lauren says with a final sigh and gets up, putting her cup back on the tray. “Some people just know right away, I guess.” And with that she picks up the tray and walks to the door.

“By the way, you should tell your father quickly about the child,” she says over her shoulder. “Just get it over with and hope for the best.” With that final piece of advice, she leaves him to his thoughts. 

*******

Lauren’s advice is usually excellent, so JT marches into his father’s office the next morning to tell him the good news. His father’s reaction is fairly neutral. Not that JT expected congratulations and a hug, but when his father simply shoots him a piercing look and then says ‘About time!’, even JT - who has long since gotten used to his father’s rough ways - is a little miffed. He tries to hide it behind a polite smile and a nod, before turning around and leaving. At least the danger of his father doing anything to Tyson is banished for now. Tyson is safe with his father’s first grandchild on the way.

“Dinner at our house on Friday. Be there before six o’ clock,” JT’s father growls before JT has the chance to slip out the door. 

“And make sure you don’t get attached to that Omega. I won’t have that sort of unnatural relationship in my family for longer than necessary.” JT clenches his teeth so hard that it’s difficult to get words out, but he manages an ‘As you wish,’ before he finally escapes outside. 

JT foregoes his carriage home that evening and instead opts to walk the few miles to his house. The weather is becoming milder with Spring approaching, and here and there the snow has melted to give way to small patches of green grass. JT can’t wait for Summer and its warmth. He takes a deep breath in as he crosses the main street and follows it out of downtown. His ribcage feels like it’s being squeezed tightly by an iron band and his father’s words are still echoing in his head. 

JT wonders briefly why his father’s cruelty and threats are suddenly getting to him again. He’s been used to his behavior since he was a little boy, and JT has never known his father to utter a kind word or show signs of affection. The only time he felt his father’s hands on him was when he got a beating for failing things like Latin or calculus. When his father found out that JT had grown fond of his private teacher Mr. Moss, his father had fired the man, telling him lies about how JT had claimed Mr. Moss had molested him. The man had been forced to flee the state, moving all the way to the east coast. Last JT had heard, Mr. Moss was a travelling salesman somewhere in Maine. 

JT’s mother meanwhile had always been drawn to the drink. When she drank, she became vacant and seemingly looked right through people, as though they were made from smoke and vapor and not flesh and blood. At least JT had never seen his father beat his wife, although JT wasn’t so sure about what happened behind closed doors. 

Mostly his father seemed to enjoy controlling other people - people he considered equals. Women like JT’s mother or his sisters didn’t really interest him. Grown men on the other hand were ideal victims to his father’s mind games. He liked belittling his employees and humiliating men in business deals. The really important men in town enjoyed his company, because nobody made them feel more powerful than old Mr. Compher. 

JT pulls his coat tighter around him as he rounds the corner to his street and walks the last few hundred yards to the house. Until now, going against his father’s wishes has never really been an option. It’s as unthinkable a thing to do as to sprout wings and learn to fly. JT simply knows he will be under his father’s thumb for as long as the old man lives and there is nothing he can do about it. Sure, he could pack up his husband and make off to Canada, find a small house and settle down there, maybe open up a little convenience store in a small town up North, grow potatoes and beets in the little garden behind the house and live a simple life. It’s not a real option, though, because JT has lived in Denver all his life and simply couldn’t leave his younger sisters and mother behind like this. 

But his father’s cruel tone still worries at his mind and for the first time in JT’s life, a tiny seed of defiance falls on fruitful ground inside his heart. JT can feel it settle in the soil comfortably, just waiting to crack open and grow a mighty tree.

*******

“This will probably be horrible, my dear,” JT whispers to Tyson, as they climb the stairs to his parent’s front door a few days later. Tyson has his hand in the crook of JT’s elbow, walking carefully over the slippery ground. He’s barely pregnant but JT swears he can already see it in the way Tyson holds himself, a careful hand always cradling the tiny bump on his lower abdomen. His face looks fuller as well, and his cheeks look especially red and healthy these days. Zadorov had ordered Tyson to eat steak every day to get his iron levels up nice and early in the pregnancy, and JT ordered the kitchen staff to heed this advice. 

Tyson always wants steak with enormous amounts of mustard, something JT couldn’t for the life of him understand. Lauren had explained to him how pregnant ladies usually experienced weird cravings and Omegas probably did too. That proved true the morning when Cale informed JT that Tyson had asked for chocolate pudding and pickled herring for breakfast, which made Cale look very green around the gills and JT laugh until his belly ached.

In fact, right before they’d left the house tonight, Tyson had eaten a large portion of toasted bread with peanut butter and two hard boiled eggs, to the amusement of the entire kitchen. JT had found him there, sitting at the kitchen counter with a mug of steaming tea and everyone bustling around him, sharing jokes and talking about their day, the staff’s children crowding around him, showing him their watercolor paintings and handing him a kitten or two to snuggle with. JT had stood in the doorway for a long while just looking at how comfortable Tyson seemed and how well everyone treated him. At least they had this, he’d thought. A warm household to bring a child into, so very unlike the house JT had grown up in himself.

Now Tyson is next to him, leaning against him slightly and giving him a warm little smile. 

“Don’t worry, Alpha,” he says. “It’s only dinner and it’s only words. Words can’t hurt us, can they?” JT feels the sudden urge to kiss his husband, but he’s aware of who might be watching, so he simply squeezes Tyson’s hand and rings the doorbell. 

To both their surprises, there are other guests already in the salon when they enter the room. Two men who JT faintly recalls seeing before, one of them sitting on the chaise lounge, very obviously pregnant and cradling his massive belly, the other one standing behind him with a hand on his shoulder while talking to JT’s father. The man on the chaise smiles at them as they enter, his fine features a stark contrast to the slightly brutish looking face his husband has. 

“Ah, son, finally,” JT’s father says with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. JT is always amazed at how well his father can hide his true self when important people are in the room.

“Alpha MacKinnon, let me introduce my son to you. Joseph Taylor Compher,” JT’s father says with a sweeping hand gesture. 

JT remembers MacKinnon now. They’d met on EJ’s racing track once, right before MacKinnon got married to his Omega. EJ told JT that MacKinnon was a good guy and usually EJ’s word is good for something, so JT gives him a friendly smile as he shakes his hand. MacKinnon simply nods at both JT and Tyson. 

JT’s father has introduced neither Tyson nor Omega MacKinnon, but to JT’s great surprise, Alpha MacKinnon does.

“This is my husband, Omega Tyson MacKinnon,” he says, squeezing his husband’s shoulder slightly and looking down at him with a smile. JT can see his father’s own smile freeze on his face. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Omega MacKinnon. Might I introduce my own husband, Omega Tyson Compher. He hails from Canada originally,” JT says and beckons Tyson forward a little. 

“Oh, so do I,” Omega MacKinnon says cheerily. “Same first name and same country, isn’t that funny!” Tyson looks at the older Omega with wide eyes and then starts to smile, while his eyes nervously dart over to JT’s father, who is quietly standing fuming only a few feet away. JT has a hard time hiding the grin that is threatening to show on his face.

Dinner is a much more enjoyable affair than JT could have predicted. The MacKinnons have just returned from Toronto, where Nate had some business in one of the paper mills. His parents own most of the bigger paper factories in the midwest and have now expanded to Canada. To JT’s great surprise it turns out that the main reason for their stay up North was Omega MacKinnon though.

“He wanted to be close to his sister, since she had just given birth,” Nate explains over the first course. “So my parents and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to mix business with pleasure, so to speak. And a happy husband should always be the main goal, don’t you think?” he says to JT with a smile. 

Omega MacKinnon is in deep conversation with JT’s sisters and Tyson, but he seems to have heard his husband somehow, because he extends his right hand on the table and grips MacKinnon’s left hand for a moment. JT is pretty sure his father’s heart is about to fail if the purple hue of his face is anything to go on. 

Mr. Compher does his best to steer the conversation away from the Omegas and towards business. After all, he has the heir to one of the biggest companies in the area in his dining room. JT tries to mostly tune the conversation out and instead ferries large parts of his chocolate soufflé over to Tyson’s plate, since he knows how fond Tyson is of chocolate as of late. Tyson kicks him lightly under the table while not quite hiding a pleased little smile. JT’s father is still firing questions at MacKinnon and JT’s mother is on her seventh glass of gin and tonic that evening, so nobody pays attention to them anyways. 

“We shipped out seven thousand pounds of paper last quarter,” is MacKinnon’s answer to another question from JT’s father. Then he wrinkles his brow and looks questioningly over to Omega MacKinnon, even though he hasn’t said a word. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Omega MacKinnon mockingly chides him and chuckles. “Seven thousand pounds, pssh. More like eight and a half thousand pounds,” he says to Mr. Compher. 

JT can’t help but suck in a little breath. He’s not sure if anybody has spoken this brazenly to his father before, let alone an Omega. He glances over at his father, who looks like his eyeballs might bulge out of his head soon. His gaze flits from Omega MacKinnon to Alpha MacKinnon, who sits on his chair, completely unperturbed and finishing his soufflé. 

“Are you alright, Mr. Compher?” Omega MacKinnon asks with a worried facial expression. “You don’t look too well.”JT’s father makes an aborted movement with his arm, like he’s thinking about slamming his hand on the tabletop but can’t quite manage it. 

Alpha MacKinnon looks up from his empty plate. It’s there and gone in a flash, but JT can see something appear on MacKinnons face. His apparently calm demeanor is deliberate and not an act of obliviousness, JT suddenly realizes. MacKinnon knows exactly what kind of man JT’s father is. Without saying a word, MacKinnon holds JT’s father’s gaze and squares his shoulders almost imperceptibly. He seems to grow larger in his chair, turning his body in a way that shields his husband slightly from Mr. Compher. Then MacKinnon lifts an eyebrow, quietly daring JT’s father to lose his temper. 

JT’s mouth is completely dry but he doesn’t dare reach for his wine glass. He’s holding his breath as he looks from MacKinnon to his father, whose face goes through an array of different emotions, before settling on a thin-lipped smile. 

“Could I interest you in another glass of whiskey in the salon, before you leave?” he asks MacKinnon. 

“That would be lovely, thank you,” MacKinnon replies as he gets up from his chair. His gaze meets JT’s for a second and right before MacKinnon helps his husband up, he sends JT a wink. 

*******

After the whiskey, the MacKinnons offer JT and Tyson a ride home in their carriage. Not only would it be incredibly rude to not accept, but JT also learned years ago never to be alone with his father when he was in a bad mood, so he eagerly accepts the invitation. When he helps Tyson into his coat, he looks up to find his father’s beady gaze fixed on them and has to suppress a shudder as they shake hands goodbye. 

“I seem to have misjudged you, Compher,” MacKinnon says as soon as the carriage door is closed behind them. There’s a sincere smile on his face as he looks at JT and Tyson. 

“How so?” JT asks.

“Well,” MacKinnon says while putting his arm around Omega MacKinnon’s shoulders and pulling him a little closer, “I assumed you’d be a bit more like your father. I was a little worried about what we would encounter today.”

“We’ve been a little worried ever since we found out that an Omega had married into your family, actually,” Omega MacKinnon adds, snuggling closer to his husband. “But you two seem very happy, even under these circumstances.” JT looks at Tyson, whose mouth is open a little in surprise at this statement. Then Tyson turns his head and looks back at JT. 

“Yes,“ Tyson says quietly, “I think we are. Aren’t we, Alpha?” 

JT is momentarily speechless at Tyson speaking so openly in company. Usually he’s quiet and deferring, always looking at JT for directions in the presence of others. For him to tell two strangers that he is happy with JT and the life they have makes a giant ball of emotions swell in JT’s chest. He doesn’t trust his own voice right now, so he simply nods and takes Tyson’s hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it and hoping against hope that the dim light inside the carriage is enough to hide the wetness in his eyes. 

“So,” comes the amused sounding voice from Omega MacKinnon from the other side of the carriage, “when do you want to come over for dinner?” 

*******

During the first few months of Tyson’s pregnancy, JT is astonished by the way happiness simply seems to spread inside of him and he soon gets too lazy and content to hide it. It’s his sisters who first comment on it, having dinner at their place and chatting with Lauren and Kerfoot like old times. André seems to have taken a liking to Morgan and the way she blushes every time he makes a joke or pays her a compliment makes JT suspect that it’s not completely one-sided either. Usually this would make JT worry for his sister, since their father would never allow a union between her and a man of no standing. But Tyson’s pregnancy and the happy state of his own marriage make JT’s every worry seem almost silly. 

“You smile so much more than before you were married, big brother,” his sister Jesse says, when they are all sitting in the salon, full and content from their delicious dinner. She smiles at him and pats his hand. 

“I’m very happy for you,” she continues. He doesn’t have the words to answer her, and instead pulls at one of her braids, which is his favorite way of saying ‘I love you’ to her anyways.

Kerfoot also seems to notice the change in JT’s mood. One afternoon, when the last bits of winter snow melt in the warm Spring sun, they go out to their old fishing spot by the river. They don’t really talk much, simply basking in the luxury of not having to fill the silence with chatter. 

“You know,” Kerfoot says on the way back home, fish bucket swinging wildly in his hand, “you were always a grumpy old fuck. Omega Tyson has really changed you, and I’m happy for you both that he did.” 

“I should have fired you years ago,” JT replies with a soft smile. If they stop to hug and wipe their eyes before they round the final corner to the house, nobody but the birds and the trees have to know. 

Tyson meanwhile is glowing with happiness. He’s starting to show a little bit, often lying down on the chaise in the salon with a deep sigh. He sleeps a lot, which Dr. Zadorov has assured them is normal, and continues to eat anything that is put in front of him. Their new friendship with the MacKinnons has changed his demeanor in the presence of new people quite radically. Where he was timid and shy just a few weeks ago, he now chats animatedly with everyone he meets. JT takes him to the race track one afternoon and Tyson not only charms EJ into inviting them to drinks, he also gets along splendidly with Gabriel’s wife and daughter, making funny faces at the latter until she falls asleep right in his lap. 

Tyson’s new confidence and his pregnancy hormones also make for some interesting changes in the boudoir. One night, a sudden restlessness in Tyson makes him crave marital relations no less than four times. JT feels completely drained after the last go and is silently glad when morning dawns and they have to get dressed. He’s not sure he could have gotten it up a fifth time, to be honest. That night is followed by two weeks during which Tyson doesn’t even want to be touched. JT, now used to regular love making, has to get reacquainted with his right hand in the bath. 

When Tyson finally finds his sexual appetite again, his new, bossy bedside manner is enough to make every encounter embarrassing for JT, as it turns out that being bossed around gets him too hot for the act to last very long at all. 

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he pants accusingly at Tyson, as they lie next to each other, duvet kicked to the end of the bed and their sweating bodies sticking together. 

“That would not be in my interest at all, Alpha,” Tyson pants back and rolls himself to lie on his side, head pillowed on JT’s shoulder. He touches the bite marks he left around JT’s nipple, then skims his hand over JT’s sweaty torso, all the way down to where JT’s cock is lying on his belly, spent and sticky. 

“I can’t, again, my love,” JT groans and weakly tries to bat Tyson’s hand away. He can feel Tyson’s grin on his chest. “Alright, gimme another fifteen minutes at least.” Tyson looks over at the alarm clock on JT’s bedside table.

“Alright. Fifteen minutes,” he says in a mock-strict tone. “And then I’d like you bend me over the foot of the bed and take me from behind, like you did that one time.”

JT muffles his answering groan in Tyson’s hair. 

*******

Lauren meanwhile has started to be quite secretive about the bedroom that was supposed to be Tyson’s at one point. One Saturday, JT tries to go in there and finds the door locked. 

“Lauren?” he shouts down the hall, as he suspects her to be in her own chambers. He almost falls over backwards when the door in front of him is suddenly whipped open and Lauren steps out, immediately closing the door behind her again.

“What?” she snaps.

“Good Lord,” JT says, stumbling back. “What the hell? What were you doing in there? And why is the door locked?”

“None of your business, Jimothy,” she answers calmly.

“Erm,” JT says, wrinkling his brow. “It is kind of my business because this is my house and-”

“Was there something you wanted?” Lauren asks him.

“Y- yes,” JT answers, momentarily confused by the sudden change in topic. “Have you seen my notebook? I thought maybe I’d left it in h-”

“It’s on your desk in the library,” Lauren answers before turning around and slipping back into the room, closing the door firmly behind her. The faint smell of paint wafts into the hallway where JT is still standing with a gobsmacked expression.

The riddle is solved a few days later on Tyson’s birthday. He and Tyson spend their morning having a lavish breakfast at the MacKinnon’s house, where Omega MacKinnon looks about fit to burst, as he eats his poached eggs on freshly baked rye bread. 

“How long until your due date?” JT asks sympathetically. Omega MacKinnon shrugs.

“Zadorov said it was only a matter of days now,” he answers. “I’ll be quite glad once this belly is gone. Yesterday Nate had to help me put my socks on.”

They all laugh but JT can’t help but think that being this pregnant looks terribly uncomfortable. He looks over at his own Tyson, who is still relatively thin in the middle. His bump is clearly visible now but he can still move around like he always did. 

When they return home, Lauren and Kerfoot are already waiting for them. To their surprise, they lead them into JT’s and Tyson’s bedchamber. There, on the wall between the door and the windows is another door frame now. The paint on the wood is still glistening wet. 

JT and Tyson walk through it into a room that is almost unrecognisable to them. The walls are clad in soft pink wallpaper with an ornate floral pattern. There’s a rocking chair in front of the fireplace and a wooden cradle beside the window, overlooking the garden. There’s a changing table and a chest of drawers filled with baby clothes,some bought in preparation by JT and Tyson themselves, but there are also pieces made by the girls in the kitchen. Lauren has knitted some hats and Cale stitched together a tiny pair of leather shoes. 

JT is speechless at the sight of it all, but Tyson bursts into tears and then hugs Lauren and JT and even Kerfoot, before remembering that he’s not supposed to touch other men. Kerfoot seems too pleased to mind, so Tyson hugs him again and then, still hiccuping and blowing his nose, he descends the stairs to the kitchen to thank everyone else as well. 

That night when JT gets out of the bathroom, he finds Tyson in the rocking chair in the nursery, cradling his belly and looking into the fire in the fireplace. He glances up at where JT is standing in the doorway, looking his fill at his husband.

“You look like a painting,” JT says and Tyson smiles. 

“Not one suited for the public, I’m afraid,” he replies and gestures down at where he is barefoot and only in his white nightshirt. 

“No,” JT says with a smile and walks over. He goes to his knees right in front of Tyson, stilling the rocking chair with his hands on Tyson’s calves. 

He can hear Tyson’s breath hitch, and sees his pupils dilate slightly. ‘Just from this,’ JT thinks. ‘I have this effect on my husband just by touching him.’ He pushes Tyson’s nightshirt up slowly, bending down to kiss Tyson’s pale skin, the bony knees and the milky white insides of his thighs. Tyson braces himself for a moment, so JT can push the shirt further up, revealing that, like always, his husband is wearing nothing underneath. Tyson is already half-hard, cock curving upwards slightly and the skin underneath his balls glistening slightly with slick. JT breathes him in deeply, smelling his husband’s arousal before licking a wet stripe up Tyson’s cock and then sucking the head into his mouth. 

JT loves doing this with his husband, bringing him pleasure with his mouth and slowly making him lose his mind. He’s making obscene, wet noises, suckling and licking around Tyson’s cock while Tyson’s hand is fisted in JT’s hair, the other one balled into a fist and stuffed in his own mouth to keep the sounds inside. JT sucks a little harder, while circling Tyson’s hole with a finger. He slips it inside eventually, coaxing a whimper from Tyson’s mouth. Every time he can feel Tyson getting closer, he backs off a little, slowing everything down. When he does it the third time, Tyson kicks him in the back with his heel.

“Oh my God, could you- just-” JT hides his grin in Tyson’s crotch and lets Tyson’s cock slide out of my mouth.

“Yes, my love?” he asks innocently.

“Stop being a shit and get on with it,” Tyson pants, wiggling down onto JT’s finger. “Come on, Alpha. Show me how well you treat your Omega. I’m yours. Do right by me, come on.”

JT almost comes untouched at Tyson’s words, quickly squeezing himself through his pants to stop himself. After only a few months of marriage, Tyson knows exactly which buttons to push with him, and JT is helpless in the face of this, so he slides a second finger into his husband and takes him into his mouth again, sucking hard and swallowing it all when Tyson comes down his throat just a few moments later. 

Tyson lets out a relieved sigh as JT pulls his slick fingers from him, hastily shoving up his own nightshirt, pushing down his drawers and taking his own cock in hand. He strokes himself with brutally short strokes, out of his mind with the need to come. Tyson slides out of the rocking chair and onto his knees much faster than JT would have suspected he could in his state and wraps his own hand around JT’s. His mouth is on JT’s, hot and searching and JT groans into their kiss when he shudders through his release.

“We should clean up, before we go to bed,” Tyson says a while later, when they are lying on the thick carpet in front of the fireplace, his head resting above JT’s rapidly beating heart. “If Lauren finds out what we just did in her new room, she’d be terribly cross with us.”

“God, please never speak of Lauren when we’re naked,” JT replies and pulls a face while Tyson muffles his laughter in JT’s skin.

“Hey,” JT says softly after their giggles have died down. Tyson lifts his head and looks up. The light of the dying fire is reflected in his brown eyes. “Happy Birthday, my love.”

“Thank you, Alpha,” Tyson says with a smile before reaching up for a kiss. 

*******

Of course, this blissful state is too good to last very long, JT thinks bitterly, a fortnight later. His own birthday is a mere three weeks after Tyson’s, and JT’s father has invited them over for a birthday luncheon. JT had very much hoped his father might forget that it was JT’s birthday and that they could spend it entirely in their own home, preferably mostly in bed. As things stand, his father is a cruel man, but he’s a very astute one, who has noticed the change in JT’s behavior. 

Where JT used to cower in front of his father, he has lately shown some of his disinterest in the company. Once or twice he even ignored invitations or summonings into his father’s office, making up urgent business matters that he had to attend to. He’s also opened a new account at the bank and transferred all his own savings into it. In contrast to his old account, his father doesn’t have the authority to check in on this one. If JT is completely honest with himself, he knew the time during which his father was completely oblivious to what was going on in JT’s life would be limited. 

In line with this, JT has slightly changed the original plan he had for their marriage. His top priority is still to keep Tyson safe, but now there is also a baby that needs safekeeping. Preferably far away from JT’s father and his ideas for the future of JT’s child. And then there’s also the part where JT proposed that he and Tyson divorce after a year. He has to talk to Tyson about it and if Tyson still wants to leave, JT will do everything in his power to help his husband get back to Canada safely - together with the child. JT would never do anything to grieve Tyson, however much he might hurt himself in the process. 

But in case that Tyson wants to stay and raise their child together - and the mere thought of this is enough to drive JT almost mad with joy - JT needs to make some changes. Deep down he’s known this for a very long time, but somehow he’d never really forced himself to think about it properly. It was MacKinnon who finally made him see sense, on the Sunday a week after Tyson’s birthday, when he and Omega MacKinnon had been over for tea. The two Tyson’s had taken off to the comfortable armchairs in the salon, putting up their swollen feet by the fireplace, leaving Nate and JT in the library. 

“Your father sent me another letter today,” Nate said with a shake of his head. “Wants me to do business with him.” He circled the rim of his whiskey glass with the tip of his index finger and looked out the window. It was raining outside that day, a spring downpour that chased the rest of the winter away.

“You don’t want to?” JT had asked and received a raised eyebrow in return.

“No,” Nate said. “I don’t care much for your father’s business. If it were just you or your sisters in charge, that would be a completely different situation, but since things are as they are-” Nate sighed and shook his head again. 

“How could I do business with a man who thinks my husband is no better than a piece of meat?” he suddenly blurted out and JT looked at him in surprise. 

“He thinks I married Tys for business reasons, because my family is rich and we need an heir because I’m my parents’ only child,” Nate said. JT had never actually heard how the MacKinnons had met and was dying to hear the story.

“Why did you marry Omega MacKinnon then?” he asked. Nate smiled coyly and looked down into his glass.

“For love, of course. I met him on a business trip to the Canadian West Coast. His family owns a huge paper mill in Victoria on Vancouver Island and I was invited to their house for dinner.” Nate had a blush on his cheeks now, JT realized. It made him look much younger, almost like a school boy in love. 

“He was the prettiest man I’d ever seen,” he continued. “With his porcelain face and his dark locks. I asked him out for a walk the very next day, and the day after that and the day after that. On the fourth day I asked him to marry me and he said yes. Didn’t even tell my parents until after we’d returned. They were pleased though. My mother always knew I didn’t much care for girls and my father was excited to have the son of an excellent business man in his family.” Nate grinned widely. 

“Plus, you’ve met Tyson. He charms everyone into liking him, immediately. Cheeky monkey that he is,” Nate said with a smile that made JT laugh a little. He indeed liked Omega MacKinnon a lot, especially because he made his Tyson so at ease in his company. 

“Yes, Tysons in general seem to be real charmers,” JT said with a grin. 

“They can charm anyone but your father it seems,” Nate had replied, suddenly solemn again. “What’s your plan there, JT?” JT looked down at his hands.

“I don’t really know. I can’t- My father won’t be disobeyed and-”

“Listen,” Nate had interrupted and leaned forward in his chair, “I know. I know your father and I can only imagine how terribly difficult it must be to stand up to him. But there will come a time when you might have to do just that in order to protect your husband and child.” JT swallowed, audible in the otherwise quiet room. 

“I know you’ll do whatever it takes to protect Omega Compher and the babe in that case,” Nate had continued, “but it won’t hurt to make some provisions beforehand, you know? Just- Have some emergency plans in place,” he finished, looking at JT quite intensely now. There was a beat of silence. 

“I will,” JT replied with a hoarse voice. 

So there’s his new bank account. There’s also a substantial amount of money in the lowest drawer of his desk. Enough to leave the town or keep the entire household in socks for a few months, in case all other assets suddenly disappear. JT has told Lauren and Kerfoot about it, making sure they understood the full impact of what he was saying. If anything might happen to JT, he knows that these two will protect Tyson with their lives, smuggling him out of Denver and onto a train to Canada with another substantial amount of money currently stashed in Lauren’s knitting basket to keep him and the baby afloat. JT sold his grandfather’s old golden pocket watch and his great-grandmother’s tiara for that.

JT thinks of all these things when he and Tyson sit in the carriage that takes them to his father’s house for JT’s birthday lunch, but so far this day has been more than pleasant. JT had woken up hard and leaking, Tyson’s lips stretched around his cock underneath the covers. Tyson didn’t finish him off that way but instead climbed up to sit on JT’s cock, sinking down with a happy sigh and then riding him with abandon. JT had come so hard he’d had trouble forming a coherent thought afterwards, simply lying there until Tyson kicked him out of bed and ordered him to draw them both a hot bath. 

After their bath - and some more touching - they breakfasted together and Tyson had presented him with his birthday gift - a copy of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ that he had somehow managed to order from the bookstore. JT had heard only rumors about it but it all sounded very enticing. The fact that Tyson had remembered JT telling him about it weeks earlier is the very best part about this present. 

They arrive at the Compher mansion perfectly on time and are ushered inside by the staff. Morgan and Jesse are the first ones to greet them, oddly subdued and not at all their usual cheery selves.

“Father is- in a bit of a mood today,” Jesse says quietly when JT inquires about the state of things. He and Tyson exchange a worried glance, Tyson instinctively cradling his belly. 

“It’ll be alright,” JT whispers and squeezes his hand as they sit down at the dining table. 

As it turns out, things are very much not alright. JT’s mother is already too drunk to stand when she finally arrives at the table, an ugly bruise on her cheekbone.

“Mother, are you alright?” JT asks her, turning her face gently with his fingertips to better see the bruising. Her left eye is almost swollen shut.

“‘m alright, m’boy,” she slurs and sits down heavily. “Jus’ fell down the stairs.” She hiccups. “So clumsy of me.” JT looks over at Tyson who has gone very pale. His eyes nervously flit to the door when JT’s father enters a few seconds later. 

“Ah, the guest of honor has finally arrived,” Mr. Compher booms with a poor imitation of a smile. “Let’s eat.” 

They make it through all three courses of the meal before the other shoe finally drops. JT has noticed the weird glances his father shoots Tyson over the table; somehow both hungry and demeaning at the same time. They make every nerve in JT’s body jangle with a combination of fear and rage. He’s never felt this way in his father’s presence before. He knows the fear well enough - that’s as familiar to him as the roads of Denver. But the rage is altogether new and surprising, something primal inside of him stirring awake. 

“So, the Omega is coming along nicely,” his father tells JT, as if Tyson isn’t even in the room. JT stays silent. He can feel ice cold fear radiate from where Tyson sits beside him and reaches out a hand underneath the table to grip his leg reassuringly. Tyson brings his own hand from his lap to put on top of JT’s and squeezes once. There’s a sneer on Mr. Compher’s face now.

“And I see the marital life is going well. Good, good, that’s good.” The sneer is getting wider. 

“But I remember telling you not to get attached, didn’t I, Joseph?” he continues, his voice poisonously sweet. “I said I won’t have that filth in my family. The Omega is here to give us children, as many as we can get. And then, his time here is done.” There’s a droning sound filling JT’s ears now. He swallows again and holds his father’s gaze, tasting copper in his mouth as he does. 

“So, since your Omega is in the family way and you’ve clearly had your fun, I thought we’d nip this problem in the bud nice and early.” Mr. Compher takes his linen napkin off his lap and folds it carefully before looking up at JT again.

“Your Omega is to stay here for the remainder of his pregnancy. That way I can make sure that he is safe and does nothing to endanger the wellbeing of my future heir. You may visit him once a-”

There’s suddenly a loud growl interrupting his father’s monologue and it takes JT a second to realize that it’s coming from his own mouth. His father looks utterly shocked for a moment, before barking out a derisive laugh.

“Oh my, look at that!” he hoots at the footmen standing in attendance. “My own son is getting cross with me for taking away his plaything. Isn’t that precious.”

JT usually prides himself on not losing his temper. He’s only ever been in one brawl and generally doesn’t enjoy physical violence but now he feels like some sort of floodgate has been opened. He’s only vaguely aware of the shouts as he grabs his father by the collar and bodily pushes him away from the table. One of his father’s footmen hurries over and JT clocks him with his elbow, making the man sink to the floor. His father isn’t laughing anymore when JT pins him to the nearest wall by his throat, his feet dangling uselessly in the air. It’s the first time JT realizes that he is in fact taller than his father, who somehow has always seemed giant to him. Now JT has him pinned.

He could crush his father’s windpipe right here and now. Twist his fat neck and then turn around and flee to Canada with Tyson. Never look back. Simply run and hope for the best.

His father has his own hands scratching at JT’s now, his face going a little purple already. 

“You,” JT growls, using his Alpha voice, the one he has never used before, the one that polite society eschews, that is even punishable by law in some states. “You keep away from my husband if you know what is fucking good for you.” He can see fear flash across his father’s face and it fuels his rage even more, making his fingers tighten around his father’s throat. 

“I’ve let you treat us all like we are dirt on the sole of your shoes all our lives,” JT spits. “I’ve done whatever you ordered me to, but this- this is where it ends. My husband is just that - my husband. He’s not my plaything and he’s most certainly not yours. He’s a wonderful man, more man than you ever will be and you will leave him alone or I will kill you in cold blood. That I promise you.”

JT gives his father one last shake before loosening his grip and letting him slowly slide down the wall, panting and pulling at his collar. There’s an angry red mark where JT choked him.

“What a pathetic little creature you are,” JT spits at him before turning around and looking at the other people in the room. The other footman is kneeling beside the one JT hit, flinching a little when JT looks in their direction. JT quietly nods at them in apology. His mother is still sitting at the table, almost catatonic with drink. His sisters look like they’re stuck in between being horrified and excited. Jesse is white as a sheet but openly grinning, Morgan has both her hands clasped over her mouth. 

Finally JT let’s his eyes fall on Tyson, scared to death of what he might see and already regretting using his voice and growling like that in front of his Omega. Hasn’t he always claimed not to be like his father? Not as brutal, not as cruel? And now Tyson had to see him like this, losing his temper and threatening their entire existence. 

When their gazes meet, however, JT’s worries fly out of the window. There’s something intense and wonderful in Tyson’s look, a fierce little smile playing on his lips. For the first time in their marriage, JT feels like they truly understand each other. For when a few minutes later they are in their carriage back home, having hastily said their goodbyes before getting their coats and hugging JT’s sisters by the door, Tyson turns to him and says “I love you. I love you, Alpha. I love you, JT,” in one long, excited rush, JT already knows. He has seen it in the way Tyson looks at him.

*******

They leave Denver on the eight o’ clock train that night. 

“It’s just a vacation, but I need to get Tyson out of here,” JT tells Lauren and Kerfoot as they sit in the library together. He’s told them everything that happened at dinner and their reactions are shockingly brisk. 

“Fucking finally,” are Kerfoot’s exact words and Lauren adds some choice Irish curses that made Tyson burst into delighted giggles. Now Tyson is upstairs packing while JT is making arrangements. 

“I’m planning on taking him to the West Coast for a few weeks, maybe San Francisco or some other town by the sea. The sun and some warmth are better for him and the baby than the situation here.” 

“Do you think your father will do something?” Lauren asks. JT worries his lip between his teeth and tips his head side to side in contemplation.

“Maybe. I don’t know, but I think the chances are pretty good,” he finally says. 

“Yeah, so do I,” Lauren says. “You better let things cool off for a while.”

“We’ll be back here in a month or two,” JT says. “Unless something else happens, in which case we might have to make other plans for the birth. But that’s a long way still to go.”

“It is,” Lauren agrees. “But just so you know - I’ll follow you two idiots to Canada if I have to. 

“So will I,” Kerfoot says with a grim nod. “And I’ll accompany you to the West Coast. Lauren will hold down the fort here.” JT nods.

“Thank you, Kerfoot. I meant to ask you if you would.”

“I’ll get packed immediately,” Kerfoot says and gets up. Lauren watches him leave the room before turning back to JT.

“The household will be fine even with you guys gone. Maybe we can give some of the staff a few weeks off so they can go and visit family if they like,” Lauren says and JT nods.

“Good idea. Make sure they have enough money to pay for train tickets and such. I’ve told the bank that you alone will be able to withdraw as much money as you want from my account, so you will be able to pay everyone. I’ll take the money I stashed in here for our trip.” JT thinks for a second. “Also, I don’t think he’ll touch either Jesse or Morgan, but maybe ask them to stay here for a while. I don’t think we can help my mother, but the girls shouldn’t be around him more than absolutely necessary.” Lauren nods and JT looks at her with a sad smile.

“I’m sorry for this, Lauren. I should have-”

“Shut up,” Lauren interrupts him gruffly. “You did exactly what you had to do and if you ask me, it was long overdue. I’ve worked for your father, Jimothy. I know what kind of man he is and how he treats his inferiors. You just keep your husband safe and sound and make sure you return. In case you won’t, send me a telegram so I can sell the house and follow you to your new home, wherever it may be. Alright?” JT grins and nods.

“Alright,” he says, voice thick with emotion. 

“Now get upstairs and help your husband with the packing,” Lauren adds, wiping her eyes with her handkerchief. “And maybe pour me a whiskey before you go.”

They leave for the station an hour early, making a detour to Gabriel’s bakery first. Scandalous news has the habit of spreading like a virus, because when they arrive, Gabe and Mikko are already up to date with what transpired in the Comphers’ house that afternoon. 

“Let me know if there is anything I can do for you,” Gabe says as he hugs JT goodbye. “And come back please. We’ll figure something out together.” JT nods and slaps Gabe’s muscular back a couple of times. 

“We’ll be back before you know it,” he says with a little laugh while Mikko presses a giant paper bag of fresh cinnamon rolls into Tyson’s hands. 

They also quickly stop by the MacKinnon’s house.

“Did Helen tell you?” are the first words out of Nate’s mouth as he greets them in the hallway, looking disheveled and outrageously tousled, his hair going every which way on his head and his shirt untucked from his pants. 

“Did Helen tell us what?” JT asks, slightly confused.

“About the baby. He just came an hour ago and Zadorov borrowed your Helen to help him with this birth as well,” Nate replies and Tyson squeaks in delight.

“How wonderful,” Tyson exclaims. “Congratulations, Alpha MacKinnon! That’s fantastic news.”

“Congratulations,” JT says as well, a genuine smile on his face. “How’s your husband? Everything alright?” 

Nate snorts and then inexplicably tears up a little. He seems to be a little bit all over the place. “Tys is an absolute champion,” he says, wiping his eyes. “Pushed the little rascal out in just under two hours. Cursed like a dock whore though. Helen thought it was funny but I think Zadorov might have been a bit shocked.” Nate chuckles. 

“You guys want to see them?” he asks and Tyson nods immediately.

“Oh if it’s not too much? I would love to,” he exclaims and then turns to JT. “Do we have enough time, dear?” JT checks his watch and nods. 

“We’ll have to make it quick though,” he replies.

Little Jamie MacKinnon, named after Omega MacKinnon’s best childhood friend, turns out to be a charmer. He’s still a bit squashed but appears to have the same fine features as Omega MacKinnon and a tuft of black hair above his forehead. Omega MacKinnon is sitting up in bed, looking exhausted but happy.

“Was it terribly painful?” JT hears Tyson ask after a few minutes in a hushed voice.

“Let’s just say I’m not planning on sitting on a chair in the next fortnight,” Omega MacKinnon replies with a grimace. Helen, who has just folded a few linen nappies on the changing table lets out a little snort and Omega MacKinnon winks at her with a grin.

Nate pulls JT aside and gives him a searching look.

“If you’re not here for the baby, why are you here exactly?” he asks. JT glances at his pocket watch and then explains as quickly as he can what transpired at his father’s house.

“So, we’ll be going to the West Coast for a while until things have cooled off a little. There’s a very good chance my father will throw me out of the company or try to threaten me or Tyson. I’ll take my husband out of this mess for a few weeks and hopefully figure something out while we are away,” JT sighs. Nate nods and looks over at their husbands cooing over the baby. 

“That seems like a good idea,” he tells JT. “And don’t worry about your future. You know me and Tyson, you know Gabriel, you know Johnson. We’re all on your side and we’ll find you something else when you come back, alright?” JT grips Nate’s extended hand and pulls him in for a quick hug before they hastily make their departure.

*******

Kerfoot has already reserved them a first class compartment and arranged for their luggage to be inside when they arrive at the station. JT knows it’s silly but he involuntarily scans the platform for his father’s face, letting out a breath only when they are safely inside their compartment and the train starts to move. He’s dying to be alone with Tyson for just a moment and Kerfoot seems to read his mind, for he gets up almost immediately and tells them he’ll look for the dining compartment and bring them back some dinner. As soon as he has slipped out the door, JT turns to Tyson.

“Are you alright, my love?” he asks and Tyson nods, pulling JT down and kissing him deeply. 

“I’m so happy we’re leaving for a bit,” Tyson whispers while stroking the side of JT’s face with his thumb. “I was so scared you might do something stupid and then you’d go to jail and I’d be alone with this baby and-”

“Shhh,” JT says, “no, baby, no, don’t worry. I wouldn’t go to jail. I’d go on the run with you and we’d live as outlaws in the Canadian wilderness. I could become a lumberjack and you could go hunting. We’d be eating moose steak and raccoon stew every day.” Tyson hiccups out a wet laugh and buries his face in JT’s neck. 

“I’m glad we’re going to California instead,” he mumbles. “I don’t really like raccoon stew anyways.” 

Kerfoot returns half an hour later with a bottle of wine and the promise they’ll get dinner delivered in a while. He bribed a waiter for the wine and JT and Kerfoot share the bottle with Tyson taking a few tiny sips from JT’s glass now and then. 

“Certainly one of the more eventful birthdays you’ve ever had,” Kerfoot says and wipes his mouth. 

“Now there’s a truth if I ever heard one,” JT replies. Tyson has taken off his shoes and put his legs on JT’s lap, even though it’s not exactly proper. Tyson seems to have accepted Kerfoot as a member of the family by now, though, and he may also be too tired to care. Their dinner comes soon after, and they eat their meals quickly and quietly, before pushing the plush seats into a sleeping position, ending up with a large bed on the ground and a smaller bunk bed hanging overhead. Kerfoot crawls into that, using his coat as a blanket and yawning as he wishes them a good night. JT and Tyson curl up on the larger bed, spreading their own coats over them. JT spoons Tyson, placing his hand on top of Tyson’s growing belly and listening to his husband’s deep breaths until the rattle of the train lulls him to sleep.

*******

It takes them almost two days on the train to reach San Francisco. They spend it mostly by reading to each other or playing cards. Kerfoot makes the mistake of teaching Tyson to play Faro and Tyson wipes the floor with them on his second try. He stays undefeated all through Nevada. 

They arrive in San Francisco in the late afternoon, and even though it’s raining, the warm weather is a welcome change after the long Colorado winter. Kerfoot arranges for a carriage to bring them to a nice hotel, where they stay for their first night in California. The next morning, they take the ferry and then another carriage an hour and a half up the coastline until they reach a small town called Stinson Beach. Kerfoot won’t really tell them how he found out about this place, but JT finds he doesn’t really care as they check into a charming little hotel. JT’s and Tyson’s suite even has a terrace with a view of the ocean, while Kerfoot’s room on the other side of the hallway overlooks the lush green Californian hills. 

“What a sight for sore eyes,” Kerfoot sighs as he lies down in the hammock that’s strung up on his balcony. He yawns, places his new hat over his eyes and falls swiftly asleep. JT and Tyson contemplate painting a moustache on his face with a piece of charcoal from the fireplace for a moment but then decide to let him rest.

“Getting beaten at Faro a hundred times really took it out of the poor fella,” Tyson says with a grin as they walk back to their own suite to take a bath and unpack.

Spring in California is much warmer than anything the Denver weather has to offer, so they bought themselves new suits when they got off the train in San Francisco; simple linen trousers and soft cotton shirts with matching straw boater hats to shield their heads from the sun. They also purchase pairs of light canvas and rubber shoes one would normally wear for playing tennis, but their leather boots are much too warm for this weather. With his swollen feet, Tyson sighs happily when he slips into the adjustable footwear, so JT doesn’t regret their purchase for one moment. 

Despite the tailor’s grumblings, Tyson ordered his clothes a little more loose-fitting then the others. 

“I expect to go up a little in size,” he said pointedly when the tailor droned on about Tyson’s slender silhouette. The tailor blushed furiously, as it wasn’t really proper to talk about such matters so freely, but JT simply laughed. He loved it when Tyson got mouthy even if the tailor didn’t seem to share this enthusiasm.

After settling in, Tyson tucks his arm into JT’s and they make their way to the miniscule post office of Stinson beach to send a telegram to Lauren and then they explore the rest of the village, which doesn’t take particularly long. Apart from the post office, there is an even smaller corner store, an ice cream parlour, a small church and a seaside restaurant that looks promising. After they get an ice cream cone each, they make their way down to the wide, sandy beach.

Seagulls screech and a few children are flying a kite in the warm spring sunshine. JT helps Tyson take off his shoes and they walk barefoot over the warm sand right up to where waves are lapping at the shore. There’s a bit of melted ice cream running down Tyson’s hand, as Tyson stares wide-eyed and with his mouth hanging open at the vast sea in front of them. 

“Have you ever seen the ocean before, my love?” JT asks him. He can’t believe he never thought to ask his husband this. Tyson shakes his head without taking his eyes from the view in front of him.

“No,” he replies, “I’ve only ever seen the town where I grew up and then Denver. Nothing else.” JT nods and they both fall silent, listening to the roar of the sea in front of them and taking a few steps more until the cold water nips at their toes. 

“Thank you,” Tyson whispers eventually and reaches out blindly to squeeze JT’s hand. 

“For what?” JT asks a little surprised. 

“Everything,” Tyson says and turns his head to look at him. “You make me a very happy man, Alp- JT,” Tyson finishes with a smile. JT blinks at him for a second before throwing the rest of his own ice cream cone behind him for the hungry seagulls to fight over and pulling Tyson into a soft kiss. 

“I love you,” he says when they break apart for air.

“I love you too,” Tyson replies and laughs as a particularly big wave soaks their pants almost up to their knees.

*******

It is remarkable how quickly time passes when you don’t really want it to. Before they know it, their first week in Stinson’s Beach has passed by, then the next, and the one after that. There’s not really much to do, apart from reading, lying around under a large umbrella and sleeping in a hammock. They all read The Picture of Dorian Gray twice while lying in the shade. Tyson wears his hat diligently but he still gets a handful of freckles on the bridge of his nose that he tries to bleach away with lemon juice. JT thinks they are the sweetest thing in the world, but then again, he looks like a boiled lobster when he falls asleep in the sun and would gladly take any amount of freckles over that.

At night, they either have dinner at the seaside restaurant or at their hotel before taking a stroll on the beach, watching the sunset and then returning for a nightcap on Kerfoot’s balcony. JT eventually finds out how Kerfoot knew about Stinson’s beach in the first place: Apparently it used to be a popular spot for rum smugglers a few years back. They now use bigger ports in the area, but Kerfoot somehow still managed to acquire a bottle of excellent Jamaican rum from one of them. All things considered JT prefers whiskey, but he’s taken a liking to their evenings on the balcony, with only the rushing of the sea and the sounds of cicadas in the trees filling the comfortable silence in between their talks. 

Silence that is, until a seaman enjoying his off-day at the beach takes a liking to Tyson and gifts him an instrument. JT had only turned his back for a few minutes, yet when he came back, he found this lovestruck young sailor sitting next to an adorably flustered Tyson, blushing underneath his freckles. It took one threatening glance from JT to make the sailor grab his cap and leave quickly, but the guy still insisted Tyson keep the instrument. 

“It’s called a ukulele,” Tyson explains to them that night, sitting in his favorite wicker chair on their hotel balcony and strumming badly on the tiny, guitar-shaped thing in his lap. 

“I’ll try and learn something for the baby,” he says, tongue peaking out of his mouth in concentration.

“Here’s to hoping your kid is born without ears,” Kerfoot murmurs and toasts JT with his glass. JT hides a snort in his glass of rum and then hides a couple of winces in a second glass as Tyson keeps on playing. 

*******

During their fourth week at the West Coast, JT notices some changes about his husband. For one, Tyson smells incredible all of a sudden. His usual scent of cinnamon and snow is more intense now, deeper and richer. Sometimes JT catches himself sniffing at him in his sleep. Even Kerfoot notices something is up, his nose twitching wildly as they sit together at breakfast. 

“I keep smelling french toast,” he says with a tiny shake of his head, “but the waiter swore there was only fried eggs and bacon today. I don’t understand it.” JT glances over at Tyson, who doesn’t seem to make the connection.

“Strange,” Tyson says and shrugs. “Maybe it’s coming from the restaurant down the road.” 

There’s also a new restlessness about Tyson that JT finds slightly alarming. It starts when JT wakes to Tyson piling up every throw pillow and blanket in their hotel suite on their bed.

“Love?” JT mumbles, still half asleep. “What’s wrong? You cold?” Tyson just shakes his head and then arranges all the blankets and pillows around them in a haphazard circle. 

“Go back to sleep, baby,” he whispers. “I’ll just make it more cozy.”

JT opens his mouth wanting to ask Tyson if he’s lost his mind, but it’s three in the morning and it actually is very cozy, so he just falls back to sleep. The next day the maid puts all the blankets and pillows back and they never really mention it again.

It’s late on a Thursday evening when things finally come to a head. Tyson has been acting strangely all day, first going on a very long walk on the beach and then coming back with a slight fever that makes JT’s stomach clench in fear. 

“You over-exerted yourself,” he chides Tyson, putting a cold washcloth on his husband’s forehead. Tyson is still thrumming with nervous energy, lying on the bed and wiggling his feet until JT puts a calming hand on his thigh.

“What is with you today?” JT asks. “You’ve been acting strange and it worries me.” Tyson chews on his lips a little.

“I have a suspicion,” he says very quietly, “but I’m scared to tell you.” JT is immediately alarmed.

“What is it, love? You don’t have to be scared, just tell me what it is,” he says. Tyson’s gaze flits nervously around the room, finally setting on the bedpost behind JT’s shoulder. 

“Have you ever heard of heats?” Tyson asks so quietly that JT has to strain his ears to make the words out. “Or bonding?” Tyson continues.

“I-,” JT starts and then quiets. He has heard of those things. Read them in those horrible texts his father gave him. “I’ve heard those things, but could you explain them to me?” JT eventually says and Tyson blushes furiously, before nodding, swallowing hard and then starting to explain.

Omegas go into heat during crucial moments in their lives, like when they are in love, for example, or when they’re pregnant and need a way to ensure the child’s father is bonded to them forever. It’s a smart invention of mother nature when you think about it, JT muses. Of course mother nature couldn’t have known of traditional Omega marriages, in which Omegas experiencing a pregnancy heat rarely end up bonded to their Alpha and instead get locked away, forced to ride out the whole thing by themselves. Which sounds awful, based on the things Tyson just explained.

“Have you ever gone through heat?” JT eventually asks him. Tyson blushes even more violently and finally nods.

“Once. I had a heat when I was just a teenage boy. It’s not uncommon for a growing Omega to have misguided heats. It was- I-” Tyson grabs a pillow and presses it on his face violently. JT has to laugh.

“What?” he asks. “Come on, tell me. What happened?” Tyson shakes his head underneath the pillow. JT waits for a moment. Tyson’s eventual answer is muffled but still audible.

“I had a bruise down there from pleasuring myself so much,” he says and the laughter dies on JT’s tongue. Instead he lets out a low groan at the thought of Tyson putting a hand on himself. 

Tyson pulls the pillow away from his face and tries to look indignant. “Don’t go making noises like that, it was miserable! I never want to-” he stops abruptly. 

“You never want to go through that again?” JT asks and Tyson nods.

“But I will,” he quietly replies. “I will go through it by myself if you ask me to.” He looks up at JT with a determined look on his face.

“Why in the world would I make you do that?” JT asks, horrified at the thought. “I’m not going to leave you alone for your heat. I- why would you think I’d do that?”

“Because if we- if you stay for my heat, there is a good chance we will bond,” Tyson replies. “And bonds- you need to understand that bonds are not like marriages. They can’t be dissolved. Bonds are for life. Meaning we would always have to stay together and-”

There’s something that cracks in JT’s chest at the sad expression on Tyson’s face when he says those words. Oh, what a hypocrite JT has been. Promising Tyson on their wedding day that this arrangement would only be for a year, promising him that JT would make sure Tyson got his freedom as soon as possible. And now he’s fallen in love and all the thoughts of Tyson’s independence and freedom have gone out of the window. Of course Tyson wouldn’t want to stay with JT forever, bonded and not able to leave whenever he wanted. 

“JT?” Tyson asks quietly, ripping JT from his miserable thoughts. “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” JT replies briskly, shaking himself. “I’m sorry my dear. Of course you don’t have to be bonded to me if you don’t want to. I’m sorry, I just assumed. Wha- How can I make this heat better though? Is there anything I can do?” Tyson blinks at him and JT furrows his brow in confusion. “What’s wrong?” he asks. 

“You-,” Tyson says, “you think I don’t want to be bonded to you?” 

“Well, y-yes?” JT replies, even more confused. “I mean, we said this was only for a year and then I’d make sure you’d get your freedom back and-”

“You unbelievable idiot!” Tyson exclaims, shoving JT a little and then breaking into wild and completely inexplicable giggling. JT stares at his husband who very obviously has gone mad. 

“I love you, Joseph Taylor,” Tyson half shouts while pushing himself up into a sitting position. “I have our child growing inside of me and nothing would make me happier than staying by your side forever. I thought you wouldn’t want to be bonded to an Omega for the rest of your life.”

“Why in the world wouldn’t I?” JT shouts back in indignation, while his heart feels like it’s making summersaults inside his chest. 

“Because no Alpha ever does,” Tyson replies, sucking all the humor out of the situation immediately. 

JT reaches for Tyson’s hand and grabs it, squeezing it gently. 

“Well, apart from Alpha MacKinnon,” Tyson adds with a sad little smile. “He bonded with Omega MacKinnon on their wedding night.” JT stares at him, remembering all the small strange things he noticed about the MacKinnons interactions. How he often wondered if they were a bit telepathic, since they seemed to read each other’s moods without speaking a single word. There’s a pulling in his heart and it takes JT a moment to identify it for what it is; longing.

“Tyson,” he says quietly, “I should have told you this a while ago, but- I can’t really imagine my life without you anymore. And I don’t really know what my future holds or if we can ever return to Denver at all, but I know that I want to stay with you, wherever we might end up. So if you’d let me, I would love to go through this heat with you.” JT takes a deep breath when he finishes and looks up into Tyson’s eyes. There’s so much love in them that JT is momentarily breathless and the scent of cinnamon in the air is almost suffocating. 

“Yes,” Tyson says, sounding elated and giddy. “That sounds- yes. Yes, I want that very much. Now let me tell you what we need.” 

*******

There’s a brisk and incredibly awkward conversation to be had with Kerfoot, during which JT wishes to die a lot and Kerfoot goes back and forth between looking too amused for his own good and genuinely worried for JT’s and Tyson’s well-being. In the end his nurturing side seems to win over though, because he agrees to leave their meals every day on a tray in front of their door. He also promises to go down to reception and make sure nobody disturbs them during the next few days. 

“Godspeed, my friend,” he says with a grin and a thump to JT’s back that makes his teeth rattle. “Go and bond with that lovely husband of yours.”

When JT returns to their hotel room he is almost knocked over backwards by Tyson’s scent. He stumbles quickly into the room before firmly locking the door behind him. Tyson has once again arranged pillows and blankets in a large circle on their bed and it looks oddly comfortable. JT vaguely remembers reading something about ‘nesting’ before the door to their ensuite bathroom opens and JT’s brain short-circuits. 

Tyson is utterly and completely naked. He looks almost terrifying in his beauty, all pale skin and red, plush lips, the round belly, the dark curls on his head and between his legs. He’s already hard, his cock as flushed as his face, his eyes shining feverishly and his scent making all the hairs on JT’s body stand on end. It’s really heavy on the cinnamon, so spicy it almost burns the back of JT’s throat. 

“Alpha,” Tyson sighs when he sees JT. He stretches out his arms and JT is in them in two short strides, his thumbs sweeping over Tyson’s perfect cheekbones, his lips pressing a kiss on Tyson’s sweaty brow. 

“What do you need, my love?” he asks.

“You,” Tyson replies. 

It all gets a bit hazy after that. JT tries to get naked as quickly as possible, almost breaking his foot in his haste to get on the bed where Tyson is already shivering and squirming, shamelessly touching himself and making aborted little gasps, like he needs a release more than he needs to breathe. JT curses his clothes, curses his pants and then - finally - he shucks off the last item of clothing and pounces on the bed. Their mouths find each other and JT feels almost frantic with need. Tyson had told him that JT would be affected by Tyson’s heat, but JT couldn’t have imagined that it would feel like this, like a fever burning him up from the inside out. 

Usually they make love facing each other, but tonight Tyson carefully rolls to his side and then gets on his elbows and knees, pushing his perfect behind high up in the air. JT lets out an involuntary growl, watching the shiver go down Tyson’s back. JT spreads Tyson’s cheeks with his hands, groaning at the sight of his pink hole, sopping wet with slick. Before JT knows what he’s doing, he has bent down and licked a broad stripe right over it, making Tyson face plant into a pillow with a high-pitched whine escaping his throat. He comes like this only moments later, JT’s face in between his spread cheeks and JT’s tongue fucking into him over and over again. 

JT feels like he is in a trance, not having it in him to stop, even though his tongue seems to cramp up after a while. He feels intoxicated by the smell and taste of his husband but eventually Tyson pushes his head away.

“Please,” Tyson pants, slapping uncoordinatedly at JT. “Please-” 

JT is almost nonverbal himself, almost too aroused to form a coherent thought, but he understands what Tyson is trying to say and clambers to line himself up.

“Are you ready?” he asks, shocked at the raspiness of his own voice. 

“Please, Alpha,” Tyson whines, face still buried in the pillows. JT growls, one possessive hand stroking up and down Tyson’s spine.

“I’m going to fuck you so good,” JT says and pushes in.

The first few strokes are tentative; syrupy slow and delicious. Tyson sounds like he’s in heaven, alternately mewling and sobbing, pushing himself back to meet each and every one of JT’s thrusts, one hand reaching back to grab JT’s thigh and pull him even closer. JT is gritting his teeth so hard he is convinced they’ll turn to dust or diamonds in his mouth and he has never been more aroused in his life, the pressure of it is almost unbearable. There’s a weird sensation happening at the base of his cock, a sort of swelling and JT suddenly feels a strange energy come over him. 

He must black out for a few moments, because all of a sudden he is fucking into Tyson at a brutally fast speed, growling and groaning, gripping Tyson’s hips hard enough to leave finger-shaped bruises underneath the skin. Tyson is chanting nonsense words now, occasionally panting ‘Yes’ and ‘please’ and ‘deeper’ while he fists his hands into the bedding. 

“Tys,” JT half-shouts before the pressure around his cock increases and he feels the base of it expand, locking him inside of Tyson, who cries out in pleasure, pushing himself back on JT’s cock and coming all over the bed as he squeezes down hard. JT is too aroused to be freaked out about the strange swelling and with his last bit of energy he grinds a fraction deeper into Tyson’s clinging heat, before coming so hard he loses consciousness. 

When JT regains his wits later, they’re lying on their sides in their nest. He’s still locked tightly inside of Tyson, who is making minute grinding movements against JT. 

“Wha-” JT rasps with a voice like gravel.

“Knotting,” Tyson sighs dreamily and grabs JT’s right hand, guiding it to his own cock. The word makes a bell chime inside JT’s mind. He remembers reading about this, remembers the anatomical sketch of the Alpha male sex organ with the ring roughly one third up the shaft. How it could swell up to lock the Alpha inside his Omega for several minutes. He remembers the accompanying text about how knotting was debasing for any self-respecting Alpha, how it was a sin and only the depraved mind could crave such a thing. He remembers the words as he fights the strange urge to bite his husband’s neck and instead moves his hand quicker up and down Tyson’s beautiful cock. 

“You look gorgeous like this,” JT growls into his husband’s ear. “So gorgeous. Like you are truly mine.” 

Tyson comes with a shout, gripping JT’s wrist hard enough to leave a mark. 

*******

They fall asleep after that, JT still stuck inside his husband, his arm flung over Tyson’s waist and Tyson clinging to him like a drowning person. JT awakes only an hour or two later, the sky outside still dark and smattered with stars. He’s gone soft inside of Tyson, but as soon as his mind awakens, so does the rest of his body and he gets hard fast enough to worry him just a little bit. Tyson is still half-asleep, pliant and soft, pushing back and sighing every time JT thrusts forward. It takes no time at all before they are both coming, almost exactly at the same time, JT’s knot swells up again and they fall back into a comatose sleep.

JT drags them both into the bathtub the next morning and they don’t even bother with clothes after they have toweled themselves dry. Kerfoot has dutifully placed a large tray with breakfast in front of their door and JT feeds grapes and bits of flaky pastries to Tyson, before Tyson craves his cock again. This time JT stays on his back and Tyson clambers on top of him with a purring sound, sinking down on JT who is almost in shock at this point. He feels like he is unable to move, instead simply staring in awe at the beauty that is his husband, with his alabaster skin and his curls and his growing belly. How eagerly he pushes himself up and down, gripping the headboard for support and slicking up so much that it drips down JT’s balls and onto the sheets. He comes with a whimper that JT swallows in a kiss and collapses on top of him. JT rolls them over, pulls out and finishes himself with his hand, striping Tyson’s beautiful chest with his come. 

“Are you feeling alright, my dear?” JT asks him later, when they have cleaned themselves up a little and lie curled into each other in the middle of their nest. 

“Yes,” Tyson purrs and shuffles closer. His scent is still spiking, but all the knotting has calmed Tyson’s heat at least a little.

“Are you sure the baby is alright as well?” JT asks with a worried glance at Tyson’s belly. “This heat is really stressful for your body. Maybe-” Tyson interrupts him with a little chuckle. 

“Oh the baby is quite well,” he says and guides JT’s hand to his belly. They look at each other for a moment in total silence. And then-

“Oh my- Was that-?” JT asks, looking down at his hand. Tyson chuckles again.

“Yes. The little one is tap dancing in there,” he says with a warm look in his eyes. “Seems to know that I’m well taken care of.”

The heat goes on for the entire day and the most of the following night. JT loses count of how many times he slips into Tyson and how many times he fights the strange urge to bite Tyson’s neck. He can’t explain it, since he has never felt that specific need before. Finally Tyson spells it out for him, down on all fours, his back arched and JT thrusting into him from behind. Tyson’s twitching madly around JT’s cock and JT is about to lose his mind when Tyson pushes himself up so his back is flush with JT’s chest, heated skin pressed to heated skin.

“Bite me already, “ Tyson gripes, guiding JT’s arms around his chest. “What are you waiting for?” And JT doesn’t question it, just- sets his teeth into the skin on the back of Tyson’s neck, where the delicate knobs of Tyson’s spine are visible in the moonshine coming in through the terrace doors. 

Tyson’s entire body goes taut before he comes with a shout and JT can almost feel Tyson’s nerves tingling, the fireworks going off in a consciousness that isn’t his. The sensation is overwhelming and earth-shattering and JT nearly misses his own orgasm hitting him like a freight train. His knot swells again inside of Tyson and as it still happens, they can both feel the heat drain from Tyson’s body. JT maneuvers them carefully back on the bed so they’re lying on their sides.

“Took you long enough,” Tyson pants and clumsily reaches behind him to pull JT in for a kiss.

“I didn’t hear you complain before,” JT mumbles into his mouth with a smile. Tyson doesn’t dignify that with an answer, but he purrs them both to sleep, and JT can feel his husband’s contentment shimmering through their new bond.

*******

JT awakens the next morning to a refreshed looking Tyson coming out of the bathroom. He’s still damp from his bath, unruly locks framing his beautiful face and JT is suddenly overcome with a tenderness that doesn’t feel entirely his own. 

“Can you feel it?” Tyson whispers, beaming down at him in the bed. 

“Yes,” JT whispers back, entirely awestruck by this new bond between them. There’s some kissing to be done before JT escapes to the bathroom as well, returning to find a fully clothed Tyson in a sun chair on the balcony with the breakfast tray from Kerfoot perched on a wicker table next to him. They eat their fruit and croissants in the sunshine, while Tyson relays his knowledge about bonding bites and how it can seal a bond and shorten a heat. 

“Why didn’t you say anything at the beginning of the heat?” JT asks and Tyson grins.

“It usually takes a little bit until a bonding bite takes. You still have to go through the heat beforehand. But I can’t say I regret the last two days particularly much.”

JT can’t do anything but agree with this statement.

After JT has helped Tyson into his tennis shoes, they leave their hotel room for the first time in two days. JT puts an extra large tip for the housekeeping staff on their bedside table and hopes he never has to look any of the maids in the face for the remainder of their stay. They knock on Kerfoot’s door, but there is no answer, so they make their way down to the beach to the little seaside restaurant. Maybe Kerfoot is already there, having a coffee and waiting for them to join him. 

Alas, Kerfoot isn’t at the restaurant either. Nor is he at the ice cream parlour, nor at the seafront. They make their rounds through the entire village twice, before a lingering uneasiness settles in JT’s chest. It’s unlike Kerfoot to go missing like this, even if he thought that JT and Tyson would be occupied much longer. 

“Don’t worry, my love,” Tyson quietly says, squeezing JT’s hand. “Perhaps he went for a walk in the hills.” Tyson points at one of the comfortable chairs outside the restaurant. 

“Let’s just order some coffee and wait for him here. He’s bound to come by eventually.” JT nods at this suggestion and they settle themselves, chairs pushed together as closely as possible. 

It takes almost two coffees and an assortment of pastries for Tyson before Kerfoot indeed finds them at the restaurant. His face lights up when he sees them, only to settle into a strangely fixed smile as he reaches their table.

“Omega Tyson,” Kerfoot says with a bow, “you look well. I am glad to see you two got through it.” Tyson blushes at his words, but he hasn’t stopped smiling since he awoke this morning and JT can tell that he feels pleased.

“Thank you, Kerfoot,” he replies, pushing at the chair next to him for Kerfoot to sit down. JT sees a crease form between Kerfoot’s eyebrows. 

“What’s the matter?” he asks and Kerfoot looks down at his shoes. There is a beat of silence. 

“Joseph,” Kerfoot starts and JT’s heart sinks. Usually Kerfoot calls him ‘Comph’ or ‘JT’ or in a mock-obedient way ‘Master’. ‘Joseph’ is reserved for serious moments and grave news. ‘Joseph’ makes JT feel like there’s a cloud passing over the sun, making him shiver even in the warm California air. 

“Joseph,” Kerfoot says again, clearing his throat and looking up. His eyes are inscrutable. “There was- a telegram last night. I- I didn’t know whether I could and should disturb you and finally I made the decision to- not.” He clears his throat again. “I- I am so sorry, old friend, but-” Kerfoot swallows hard, “Lauren wrote. There was an accident in one of the mines and your father- he died.” 

*******

Grief is a strange thing, really. It can come at you in ways you would never expect it to, like a purring kitten that suddenly turns into a raging lion and rips your heart out with its claws. There is no logic to it, no way to know how you might react. That day, in the bright sunshine, with a warm breeze ruffling his hair, his husband’s hand on his arm, sitting at the rickety restaurant table with the white linen tablecloth, JT stares at Kerfoot for a moment and then just- starts laughing. 

It’s not a laugh of elation though. JT would have expected that. It’s not laughter because they can return to Denver without a threat to Tyson’s life. It’s not laughter because JT - for the first time in his life - is free from the cruel man that raised him. It’s not joyous. It’s- JT can’t really grasp it. He laughs and laughs, until the breath in his lungs feels like he inhaled poison and Tyson wraps his arms around him tightly. JT holds on for dear life, not even realizing that his barks of laughter have turned into sobs and that the reason the world is turning blurry right in front of his eyes are tears that spill from them. 

He doesn’t know or care how they eventually make it back to the hotel. He vaguely registers how their bed is freshly made and all the windows are wide open. The room that smelled so much like him and Tyson is now oddly sterile again, smelling only of laundry detergent and the flowers that are in a large vase on the dresser. Kerfoot helps him lie down while Tyson fetches a cool washcloth that he puts over JT’s eyes. JT knows Tyson can feel his despair and all the conflicting emotions inside of him and he’s ashamed that his husband has to see all of this mess inside his heart. He’s supposed to be one protecting his Omega, the one with a plan.

“Don’t be silly,” Tyson murmurs and presses a kiss on JT’s mouth, even though Kerfoot is standing right next to them. “I am just as good at protecting you as you are at protecting me.” There is tender, caring love being pushed through their bond from Tyson’s end and it feels like a ray of sunshine falling directly into JT’s chest. 

“Thank you,” he whispers. 

Kerfoot tells them all he knows in bits and pieces, interrupted occasionally by quiet questions from Tyson. JT just lies on the bed, squeezing his husband’s hand, glad that he doesn’t have to speak. He doesn’t want to ask anything, doesn’t want to talk or think. 

“There must have been an explosion at one of the mines,” Kerfoot says. “Lauren wasn’t sure why your father was even there, but it seems like he was gravely injured. The other men- they, well they saved themselves. He was left behind and then the mine caved in.”

“Is there any chance he survived?” Tyson asks. “Any at all?” Kerfoot shakes his head.

“None,” he says. “I spent most of the morning in the post office, arranging our journey back. There’s a carriage coming for us tomorrow at dawn, then the ferry to San Francisco and we should make the 11 o’ clock express train. It only takes 32 hours to Denver, so we should arrive on Wednesday evening, just in time for supper.” 

JT can feel them both turn to him. 

“How does that sound, love?” Tyson asks quietly. “Do you want to go back home?” JT swallows and there’s a sharp ache in his throat. He takes the washcloth away from his swollen eyes and tries to sit up a little. 

“I think,” he says hoarsely, “what I want is a strong drink and a pipe. Kerfoot, could you-”

“Certainly,” Kerfoot says getting up.

It is the last afternoon they spend like this on Kerfoot’s hotel balcony overlooking the green California hills. JT and Tyson are sitting in the largest wicker chair, Tyson half on top of JT, with his legs flung over JT’s lap. Kerfoot is sideways in the hammock, cradling a tumbler full of rum and looking into the distance. There’s silence surrounding them until JT speaks.

“It is the most peculiar thing,” he says, sucking on his pipe. “I am sad but I’m not. And I’m elated but I’m not. And then I feel wretched for feeling elated and silly for feeling wretched. He sighs and Tyson wordlessly lifts JT’s hand in his own and kisses it. JT smiles a tiny grateful smile at him. 

“Your father was a very- complicated man,” Kerfoot eventually says. “It would have surprised me greatly if he had suddenly turned easy in death.” JT lets the words swirl around in his mind and eventually nods.

“I suppose you’re right,” he says. “Yet I still have no idea what to do now. His death makes things easier for us, it certainly does, but- what horrible person would think something like this? How can anyone think that about their own father? How can I? It is a monstrous thing to think!” JT takes another gulp of rum to wash down the sob that is threatening to climb up his throat

Tyson doesn’t say anything but the bond between them suddenly goes steely and JT looks over at him in surprise. 

“Don’t speak of yourself like that,” Tyson says quietly. “Don’t you dare, Joseph Taylor.” JT is too surprised at Tyson’s unflinching tone to respond. 

“You are a good man,” Tyson continues, “a good husband and I will not sit here and listen to you slandering yourself. Your father was-” he takes a deep breath, “he might have been a good man, deep down, but he was wretched to you and your family. I might forgive him for buying me like kettle, because it got me you and,” Tyson carefully places a hand on top of his pregnant belly, “it brought me our child. So his intentions might have been horrible, but the outcome was not,” he says and smiles at JT warmly before his eyes turn dark again. “But I will never forgive that man for how disgusting he was towards people and especially for what he did to you. Making you doubt yourself every step of the way, pushing you around so much that you had to flee from everything you know just to keep me safe. No, no I hope-” Tyson interrupts himself and takes a deep breath. 

“Don’t feel wretched,” he finally says and looks at JT with a sad smile. “Feel grateful for the lessons he taught you, even if he might have intended teaching you different ones. Feel grateful for how less rocky the path ahead just became. Feel grateful that while he might not be, we all are alive and will get to live another day on this green earth.” JT blinks at him, overwhelmed with emotion and pride over the wise man he gets to call his husband. 

“Fucking hell,” Kerfoot mutters from the hammock, “I will drink to that!” 

*******

Their journey home both goes on forever and barely takes time at all. JT feels antsy and trapped in their carriage to the ferry, on the ferry itself and in the carriage to the station. They board the train and settle in their first class sleeper cabin. JT spends the entire journey either walking up and down the long train corridors and staring out of the windows, or curled up next to Tyson, his head on Tyson’s shoulder and his husband’s hand buried in his hair. 

The only thing that seems to calm him completely is Tyson purring them to sleep. The next morning, Kerfoot acts strangely around Tyson, apologizing unnecessarily for anything and everything until Tyson asks him point blank what is wrong. Kerfoot stutters some nonsense about being tired for a bit before an apology bursts out of him.

“I know I wasn’t meant to hear that. It’s private, I know that and I didn’t- this compartment is so sm- I didn’t mean to eavesdrop or anything!” he says with a wild look around his eyes. JT can feel through the bond how amused and endeared Tyson is when he assures Kerfoot that he doesn’t mind that he heard. 

“It’s been stressful for all of us and you are family. If I can purr us all unconscious, I’ll do it gladly, and there is not a single indecent thing about it,” Tyson says. The second night, JT can hear a happy sigh from Kerfoot’s cot when Tyson starts to purr. 

JT has dreaded the moment of arrival back in Denver ever since he boarded the train out, yet when they actually arrive at Denver station at dusk, he feels only joy at being on familiar ground again. Kerfoot gets a boy to carry their suitcases out for them while JT and Tyson look up and down the platform. Lauren said she would send someone to pick them up and sure enough, the handsome face of Gabriel Landeskog soon beams at them. 

“My friends,” he says with one of his blinding smiles and wraps JT in a rib-cracking hug. Tyson gets a much more appropriate bow and a kiss on the back of his hand and Kerfoot a hug and some well-meaning thumps on his back. 

Gabe has a carriage waiting outside for them. After he helps Kerfoot and the boy stow away the suitcases, he helps Tyson inside. Once they’re all seated, the driver pulls away from the curb and they roll down the main street and towards their part of town. 

“How are you?” Gabe asks JT quietly and gives him an assessing look. JT swallows and smiles a small smile. 

“I’m- fine, I guess. It’s been a lot,” he answers. Gabe nods. 

“I can only imagine. We were all shocked when we heard. It’s still the talk of the town. The mayor put all flags at half mast.” Gabe shakes his head slightly and looks out of the carriage window. 

“I used to hate your father on your behalf, because it seemed like you couldn’t or wouldn’t, so I can’t really say I’m sorry that he is dead.” Gabe looks up. “But I am very sorry for you, my friend. I can’t imagine this is an easy situation even if your father was a horrible man. I just hope that something positive can blossom from this. And whatever you might need from me during this time, just say the word and I’ll try to help.” 

JT swallows a few times before he is able to answer. 

“Thank you, Gabe,” he says. “I- to have a friend like you-” he swallows again and then Tyson grabs his hand and squeezes his fingers reassuringly. 

“We are both so very grateful to have a friend like you,” Tyson finishes and smiles at Gabe, so all JT has to do is nod. 

There isn’t a dry eye in the carriage when they finally arrive at their home.

*******

Anna has prepared them a dinner of cold cuts and freshly baked bread when they arrive, and after they have both hugged Lauren, they sit down in the dining room. JT, Tyson and Kerfoot all listening to Lauren’s detailed account on everything that happened in their absence. 

“It has been a turbulent few weeks,” Lauren says with a sigh and a weak smile, before launching into the story. This, it turns out, is a bit of an understatement. 

Apparently, right after JT and Tyson left, an attorney had turned up at the house, claiming it was JT’s father’s property and they all had to leave. Lauren managed to shake him off at first with the help of Jesse and Morgan, but he turned up the next day and the day after that. The fourth time he came to the house, he brought a police constable. Lauren finally contacted Nate MacKinnon, who in turn contacted his own lawyers. They had put an end to this stunt fairly quickly, producing the official documents of ownerships from the registrar’s office, thus proving that JT was the rightful owner.

Then, the strangest things started happening around the house. One of the staff children’s kittens vanished, a stone was thrown through a kitchen window in the middle of the night. Certain shops in town suddenly refused service to the members of the household. Granted, it was just a few businesses, but still. On Sundays, when some members of staff went to church, they were jeered at or pushed on their way out. Nasty rumors sprung up around town, about how the staff’s children were all illegitimate offspring of JT, even though some of them were already in elementary school and the mothers had started working for JT not even a year ago. 

“People will believe any old toot,” Kerfoot said, shaking his head. “The stupidity of it all.”

“My father has certainly always been excellent at puppeteering his cronies and controlling the narrative,” JT said. 

“Thank God for the MacKinnons,” Lauren continued. “That Nathan MacKinnon gets things done. He made damn sure everybody in town knew which side he was on. And since everybody gets their paper from him- It helped. It really did. He and Mr. Landeskog were lifesavers while you were gone.” 

Then, late one evening, Lauren continued, Nate had suddenly appeared at the door, demanding to talk to Lauren. It was him bringing the news of Mr. Compher’s death into the household. Him, who sent for JT’s mother to be brought to JT’s house to be with her daughters.

“We sat in the library,” Lauren says, “and he told me how it happened. That it had been an accident with explosives. Your father was the only person to die. There were 12 men down in the mines when it happened and he stood way too close to the explosion. Everyone else ran for their lives and nobody turned around for him. Which-” Lauren pauses, looking uncomfortably up at JT.

“Which is unsurprising,” JT finishes the sentence for her. “It’s alright. You can say it, we all know it to be true.” 

Nate waited with Lauren until JT’s mother arrived an hour later. 

“She stayed for only one night,” Lauren finishes finally. “Then your mother wanted to go back to her own home, and she left with your sisters.” 

“My mother,” JT asks cautiously, “how- how is she?”

“Didn’t drink a single drop,” Lauren says, guessing at the real question behind JT’s vague one. “I had the whiskey all ready for her, but she only had water the entire night. I’ve never seen that woman so alert in all the years I have known her.”

JT, Tyson and Kerfoot all stare at her in disbelief. 

“I know,” Lauren says with a snort. 

After JT has inquired about the wellbeing of his sisters and they’ve discussed plans for the next few days, Lauren finally heaves a sigh and then smiles at Tyson and JT. 

“Now, let us finish this night with happier things. How are the two of you?”

“Bonded,” JT says bluntly, making Kerfoot choke on his whiskey and Tyson slap JT’s arm with a scandalized gasp. 

Lauren blinks at him for a few moments before turning to Tyson. “I would congratulate you, but are you quite sure you want to be bound to this tactless piece of work for your entire life? Have you really thought this through, Omega Tyson?”

“Apparently not,” Tyson says with a sigh, but JT can see the corners of Tyson’s mouth curling upwards and feels nothing but happiness and affection through their bond. 

*******

JT’s father’s body is still down in the mines and there’s a risk the tunnel might cave in, so there is no funeral to be held. Instead, JT and his sisters organize a small memorial service for just the family during which they mostly sit around the table in the Comphers’ dining room, planning out their futures. JT’s mother has decided to move to Chicago, to be closer to her widowed sister. 

“I have no head for business,” she tells her children with a sad smile. “And I have no fond memories associated with the company. So I’ll leave it to you three to decide what to do with it.”

JT and his sisters all look at each other, and it’s Jesse who speaks first.

“I think we should sell it,” she says, jutting out her chin a little like she is expecting the other two to put up a fight about this. “Silver mining is risky,” she continues, “and some say the silver rush is coming to an end around here. I say we sell the company now with a profit than in a few years down the line when we won’t get any money for it.” She looks at Morgan and JT, who shrug in unison.

“Don’t expect me to argue with you,” JT says. “I’ve never had an interest in silver. I always assumed you did.” Morgan and Jesse both pull faces while shaking their heads. 

“So we sell?” JT asks, just to be sure. “And share the profits?” Jesse smiles at him.

“You don’t have to do that, brother,” she says. JT immediately raises his hand to silence her.

“Yes, I do,” he says. “I want you two to finish your education and then take your time to find a husband you might actually want to get married to. Just because I lucked out, doesn’t mean that every arranged marriage is a happy one.” He can feel a thrum of ‘happy, love, want to kiss’ through the bond and quickly reaches over to squeeze Tyson’s hand. 

“What if we invested the money, though,” Jesse asks with a sly smile. “Because- I might just have an idea…” 

*******

They sell the Compher Silver Mining Company to Mr. Cherry just a fortnight later. He smiles like a shark when JT signs the contract and shakes his hand. JT and his sisters asked for a large sum of money and he paid it without negotiation, too anxious that they might sell to a competitor. They even got him to agree to guaranteed fair wages for all their workers. It’s now the Cherry Silver Mining Company, which doesn’t sadden JT in the slightest. He never liked the business anyways. 

Summer has fully arrived in Denver now, leaving Tyson with a constant craving for ice cream and cold foot baths. The only times he’s really comfortable is in the evenings when they take a stroll through their garden; Tyson and JT both barefoot in the damp grass, listening to the cicadas and the birds in the trees. André and Kerfoot have built a fire pit at the edge of the garden, close to the door to the kitchen, and the staff usually spend their evenings sitting around it, listening to André play the guitar and drinking iced tea. Sometimes JT and Tyson join them, roasting marshmallows and laughing along. 

Sometimes, when Tyson remembers his ukulele and wants to get it from the bedroom to join in on the music, JT has to distract him by accompanying him upstairs and then sucking his cock until Tyson is happy, boneless and tired and has forgotten all about ukuleles and singalongs.

Morgan and Jesse come around much more often these days. Morgan, especially, spends a curious amount of time at their house, often lurking around the servant’s quarters and then ‘accidentally’ running into André. JT takes note of it but doesn’t really know how to address the issue, so he does what he always does and goes to Lauren for help. 

“I’d say your sister is an adult and a smart woman,” Lauren says after she has stopped laughing at JT. “She won’t do anything to jeopardize her future and André is terrified of me, so he’ll treat her like a gentleman or else.” JT chuckles a little.

“What if your sister decided to marry him, though?” Lauren asks after a little pause. 

“What do you mean?” JT asks. 

“Well, would you allow it?” Lauren asks and JT scowls.

“I’m not telling my sisters who they can and cannot marry,” he says and shakes his head. “Like you said, they’re smart adults who can decide for themselves. If Morgan wants to marry a handsome footman, she may do as she pleases.” 

“Handsome, eh? Aren’t you a married man, Alpha Jimothy?” Lauren asks with a grin. JT huffs in response.

“I’m married, not blind. And if Tyson has to tell me how handsome Gabriel is, every damn time we meet him, I can just as well comment privately on the attractiveness of our employee.” Lauren throws her head back and laughs, before getting up and smacking a kiss on JT’s forehead.

“Don’t be jealous, Jimothy. Gabe Landeskog might be handsome, but your Omega loves only you. Even a blind man could see that.”

Indeed, Tyson and JT are as much in love as ever, maybe even more so these days. Tyson’s middle is enormous now, large enough that he has to wear very loose-fitting pantaloons and wide linen shirts that he leaves untucked. It’s fine for everyday use, but Tyson has started to help Jesse and Morgan organize a summer ball at the Compher mansion and his casual summer outfit is not an option for that. 

“There is nothing that fits me,” he sighs exasperatedly one evening, when JT is already lying in bed, and Tyson is still looking through their dresser as if a suit that fits him might just be magically hiding underneath all their other clothes.

“Tyson my love, the ball is still weeks away, why don’t-”

“It’s not weeks,” Tyson interrupts him, “it’s just ten days from now! And if I don’t find a solution, my only option would be to go naked!” JT grins and turns to lie on his side, propping himself up on his elbow and looking at his husband.

“Well, what a sight that would be. I’m all for it, to be honest with you,” JT says. Tyson pushes the last drawer shut and turns around with a raised eyebrow. 

“Oh really?” he asks, “you would be fine with me walking around naked all night? Having other Alphas see me like that, smell me like that? Thinking about having their way with me, claiming me? That would be alright with you?” JT can’t help the growl that escapes his throat at the thought and he knows Tyson can feel his spike of jealousy through their bond.

“Hm,” Tyson says with a wicked little grin, “didn’t think so.” 

He’s standing right in front of their bed in just his nightshirt, but he slips it quickly over his head, before climbing onto the mattress with a sigh. He often complains about how heavy he is now, but JT thinks he is beautiful like this. His large belly, his nipples that seem darker and plumper these days, his cock that is rapidly hardening now that JT is kissing down Tyson’s body. Tyson has a hand tangled in JT’s hair and sighs happily when JT finally crawls between his legs and sucks Tyson’s cock into his mouth. 

JT takes his time down there, bringing Tyson close to the edge and then backing off several times, before Tyson starts kicking him in the buttocks with the heel of his foot. There aren’t that many positions that are still comfortable for him in his state, so they end up on their sides, JT spooning his husband and pushing one of his husband’s legs up so he can slip into him from behind, making Tyson whine high in his throat. 

“God, you feel so good,” JT whispers into Tyson’s ear, shivering at the moan it elicits from his husband.

JT presses feverish kisses to the back of Tyson’s neck as he pushes in and out, first slowly and then faster and faster. Eventually, his rhythm falters and he loosens his grip on Tyson’s hip to slide his hand towards Tyson’s cock. It only takes a couple of clumsy strokes to make Tyson lose his mind.

“Oh,” is all that he whispers, before spilling into JT’s hand and clenching around his cock. JT pushes in one last time and then follows his husband over the edge with a shudder and a stuttering gasp. 

They stay like this afterwards, JT slowly slipping out of Tyson, feeling his semen and Tyson’s slick drying on his skin and not minding the mess one bit, because his wonderful husband has pulled up the covers over them and it’s warm and cozy lying together like this. 

“I still don’t know what I’m going to wear to the ball,” Tyson eventually murmurs and JT would laugh but he’s already more than halfway to sleeping.

“I’ll go naked with you,” he mumbles and falls asleep to the sound of Tyson’s giggles.

*******

The ball is, of course, a roaring success. Some members of Denver high society found it in poor taste to have a ball so soon after the death of Mr. Compher, but the mansion is still packed with guests, among them some of the most important people in town. Even the mayor - an old friend of their father’s - has chosen to attend the festivities, his dull wife hanging on his arm while sucking her teeth all night at the sight of the champagne and young people waltzing. 

Morgan had asked André to attend the ball with her and they spend most of the evening on the dancefloor, ignoring the whispers and looks from the more conservative guests. The heiress to the Compher fortune dancing with a footman in a borrowed suit. JT had helped André out when the latter came to him almost in tears, asking for an advance with his pay so he could go and buy himself something fitting for the ball. JT had given him one of his old suits and asked their tailor to alter it for André, free of charge. He looks especially handsome in it, beaming down at Morgan in his arms and making all the frustrated wives in the room quietly furious with envy. 

Jesse meanwhile, is in a corner talking to Alpha MacKinnon about business, while Omega MacKinnon enjoys his first night without their son - sitting next to Tyson on a chaise and teasing him about his pregnant belly. 

“Surely I was never this big,” JT hears Omega MacKinnon say when he approaches with a seltzer water for Tyson. 

“Lies!” Tyson screeches in half outrage, half bemusement. “You were so much bigger than me! You looked like a balloon!” JT snorts a little as he hands his husband the glass and Omega MacKinnon looks up at him accusingly. JT immediately schools his face into a somber expression.

“You always looked lovely, Omega MacKinnon. As you do tonight. And as does my husband. Both- both so very lovely,” he stutters very quickly before pressing a kiss into his husband’s locks and retreating to the sound of their giggles. 

He finds Gabe on the terrace, where the staff have set up lanterns, chairs, and tables so that their guests can enjoy the warm summer evening.

“Here you go,” Gabe says as he slides a full glass of whiskey over the table to JT. EJ is already sipping at a glass of red wine and they all fall quickly into a comfortable small talk about the summer and their plans for the following weekend. 

“Are you going to tell us about your new business venture at all or do you prefer to shroud yourself in mystery at all times?” EJ finally asks with a toothless grin. JT smiles into his whiskey and then pulls out his pipe to stuff it.

“Patience, old friend,” he replies and Gabe shakes his head and looks at EJ.

“Remember when this one was still so green behind the ears? And now he’s all grown up, married with a young one on the way and making business decisions. We’re getting old, EJ.”

“What else is new?” Nate MacKinnon asks, as he joins them at their table. 

“You being in cahoots with JT over here,” Gabe says and pulls up his eyebrows. “When are you two finally going to clue us in, heh?” Nate grins and looks over at JT.

“I mean, we signed the papers this morning, so…” JT laughs.

“Alright. Let’s tell them then. We’re going public with it in a few days anyways.”

“Going public with what?” Gabe asks quickly in a tone that betrays his otherwise casual demeanor. JT smirks at him for a few moments to stretch the excitement before he finally gives in and tells them.

“Jesse and I wanted to do something worthwhile with our money. Jesse believes the silver rush is done and that tough times might be ahead, so she came up with a brilliant idea and asked Nate here to join in as our main investor.” Nate acts like he is tipping an imaginary hat and takes another sip from his glass.

“So, today we signed the final papers,” JT says with a smile. “We have founded the Denver Athletic Club, a gymnasium where one can partake in all sorts of athletic sports, go on guided hikes to the mountains, swim in our heated pool or get a massage. Members pay us three dollars for a year and have free access to all the club property. There’s also going to be a library, a dining room and afternoon and evening classes for girls and women. We purchased the large, empty warehouse on Glenarm street last week, and the pool is getting built as we speak.”

There’s a shocked silence at the table when JT finishes. Gabe is staring at him while EJ’s mouth is hanging at a slight angle, making him look like he’s just seen a ghost. JT finally lights his pipe but shoots a worried glance at Nate when the silence stretches and Nate answers with a confused shrug.

“You- you don’t like it?” JT asks tentatively. “Or should I explain more? There’s also-”

“That,” Gabe finally says, “is maybe the best idea you’ve ever had, Jimothy. Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus!” He barks out a laugh before being interrupted by somebody clearing their throat.

“You better have a good excuse to use the Lord’s name in vain like that,” Lauren says in her thickest Irish accent. Gabe looks scared for a second, before his gaze flicks quickly behind her and then he’s smiling his best smile up at her.

“I do for a fact. And I also just saw a handsome young musician arrive,” he grins and nods at the doors. Lauren whips around, looking flustered when she spots a familiar figure in a grey coat. 

“What in the world is Colin Wilson doing here?” she whisper-shouts at JT, who is grinning at her indignation.

“I think Jesse and Morgan invited him,” he says in as innocent a voice as he can muster. “You should go over and say hello. You look lovely tonight, by the way.”

“Jesus Christ, you kids are unbelievable,” she gripes and rushes away, fixing her hair.

“Don’t you dare use the Lord’s name in vain,” Gabe shouts after her with a laugh. 

*******

The news of their business venture makes the rounds that very evening and when JT leads Tyson out on the dancefloor for the last dance of the night, they already have close to twenty members signed up for the club when it opens in early autumn. 

“Did you have fun tonight?” he asks Tyson as they sway slowly. 

“Oh yes,” Tyson sighs happily. “I talked to so many interesting people, and Omega MacKinnon told me who everyone was and who to avoid. And Lauren brought me sweet treats until that handsome blonde man showed up. He looks a bit like Alpha Landeskog, don’t you think? The same golden hair and the same beautiful smile.”

“I figured you’d think him good-looking,” JT says with a little grin, “you like them blond, heh? Blond and handsome.” 

Tyson looks up at him and for a second there’s so much love and affection coming through their bond that JT finds it hard to breathe.

“Nah,” Tyson says, carding his fingers through the hair at JT’s nape, “I like them fire-haired, handsome, kind, funny, and loving. I’m a bit dainty like that.”

“Good thing you married me then,” JT says.

“Good thing indeed,” Tyson replies.

*******

A long summer is a blessed thing, JT thinks in late August, just days before the baby is due. It’s been unusually warm this year, with blue skies and a burning sun during the day and a daily cooling thunderstorm in the late afternoon. By the time dinner is on the table outside on their large terrace, the sky has usually cleared again and the downpour has been swallowed by the parched earth. They have their after dinner strolls in the crisp, fresh air of a summer’s night. 

Sometimes though, the thunderstorms don’t come down the mountains quickly enough. On those days, the heat sticks to everything and everyone, making Tyson, in his pregnant state, desperate enough to take dips in the pond behind the garden in only his undershirt and drawers. The sight of him in translucent, wet cloth clinging to his body is enough to drive JT to desperation, especially because Tyson has grown way too uncomfortable to enjoy marital relations. He likes to watch, though, when JT pleases himself, sometimes whispering admirably filthy things into JT’s ear to help the process along. 

On days when the thunderstorms are delayed, Lauren usually lights a few extra candles and closes the blinds on every window tightly. Everyone knows the longer the thunderstorms stay up in the mountains, the stronger and more vicious they are once they finally roll over the town. One night, lightning struck down the old elm tree on the corner next to Gabe’s bakery, burying half an empty horse cart underneath and smashing it to bits. Another thunderstorm knocked a few shingles off the MacKinnons’ house and destroyed Anna’s vegetable garden, rendering all her hard work for naught. 

It is one of these thunderstorms that hits on the day Tyson finally goes into labor. Helen and Dr. Zadorov had examined Tyson in the morning and Zadorov had been really pleased with the state of the Omega’s health.

“Everything healthy and perfect, he announced to Tyson and JT, while Helen washed her hands at the basin. “Helen say you are still tight down there, so baby maybe not come for another few days. We check again tomorrow.” Tyson sighed but nodded at Zadorov’s words and Dr. Zadorov laughed.

“I’m know, is hard like this. But soon it start. I’m promise you, Omega Compher!”

“If you say so, Doctor,” Tyson said and smiled at Helen, who helped him pull up his loosest trousers again.

They spend their day with a slow walk and then Tyson takes a nap in the hammock Kerfoot brought back from California and strung up in the garden. JT takes advantage of his husband’s nap to go check up on the progress at the Denver Athletic Club - there’s a problem with the plumbing on the second floor. When that’s dealt with Jesse needs his help deciding on the upholstery in the library, then Morgan wants his input on the curriculum for the women’s classes. After all that, Nate invites him back to the MacKinnon house for an early supper. JT has a delivery boy run back to their home to let Tyson know he’ll be a little later than planned. 

By the time JT is on his way back home, the sun has set but the air is still stifling hot, so he’s opted to walk rather than sit in a stuffy carriage. He can see the air shimmering over the hot pavement as he slowly strolls home, sucking on his pipe and thinking about maybe taking a cold bath with Tyson before they retire for the night. His shirt is sticking to his body by the time he reaches his front door. There’s thunder growling ominously in the distance and the first raindrops are already falling. 

Kerfoot rips the door open before JT can even reach for the handle.

“Fucking hell, there you are,” he yells and pulls JT inside. “I was just about to run to the MacKinnons’ to fetch you.”

“What’s wrong?” JT asks as fear creeps up his spine and his mouth tastes like copper all of a sudden. Kerfoot opens his mouth to answer but before he can utter a sound, there’s the whip crack sound of lightning, quickly followed by booming thunder and then a scream. JT suddenly feels terror and pain pulsating through the bond, making him push Kerfoot aside and storming up the stairs in a flash.

He bursts through the door of their bedroom to find Tyson in his nightshirt, bent over and clutching the foot end of their bed, while Helen rubs small circles on his back and calmly gives instructions to Lauren, who seems to be in the process of fetching water and clean towels. Everyone turns their heads when JT nearly falls into the room.

“You!” Tyson screeches and JT is shocked to see his husband’s face distorted with outrage. “You did this to me,” Tyson shouts, pointing at his large belly with a shaking finger. “You put this baby in there and now I’m going to die.” The last word is stretched into a loud moan as another contraction seems to hit Tyson. JT can see the white in his knuckles as he grabs the bedpost hard enough to make the wood creak. 

JT is torn between genuine concern for Tyson and the urge to laugh at his husband’s dramatic antics, but he suspects he might not survive the night if he actually does start laughing so instead he hastily takes off his jacket and takes a few steps towards Tyson.

“Do-” JT says, “what should I- do you want me to leave?” His eyes dart between Tyson, Helen, and Lauren.

“Yes,” Helen says the same moment that Tyson says “don’t you fucking dare”. Helen looks stony.

“Men aren’t allowed in the delivery room,” she says. “I already had this discussion with Alpha MacKi-”

“I’m a man,” Tyson grits out between his teeth. “And either my husband stays or I will pick you up and throw you out the window. Don’t test me.” There’s another flash of lightning from outside, underlining this dramatic statement. JT shoots Helen an apologetic look but she doesn’t seem offended in the slightest. Instead she looks amused as she gives JT a little shrug.

“I’d like to see you try in your state,” she replies and gently pets Tyson’s back. Lauren is openly grinning. 

“May I have a word?” Helen asks JT before he can go over to his husband and pulls him aside. 

“I will need to ask you a favor, Sir,” Helen says.

“What is it?” JT asks, his eyes nervously darting over to where Tyson is still bent over and clutching the footboard. 

“I know you are my master and the head of this household,” Helen says quickly, “but we both know that there is no way we can send someone outside to catch Dr. Zadorov in this weather. Which means we might be on our own here. I need you to promise me that you won’t get in the way. If something goes wrong, I will give the commands and I will need you to follow them, is that understood?” Her voice is urgent and her gaze steely. JT swallows hard but nods after a few moments. 

“You give the commands tonight,” he tells her solemnly and she shoots him a smile, curtseys and then goes back over to Tyson. 

“Alright, Mr. Tyson,” she says kindly, “I’ll need you to get on the bed for a moment, so I can examine you. Do you think you can manage to get on your back for me?” Tyson looks like he’d rather make good on his promise to throw her out the window, but he nods and lets her and JT help him onto the bed. Helen scrubs her hands clean at the sink in the bathroom, before coming back, coating her fingers in oil and slipping them under Tyson’s nightshirt. JT sits next to Tyson’s head, stroking his hair and wiping his sweaty brow with a wet cloth.

“Four centimeters,” Helen finally says as if any of them understand what that means. She smiles at their blank expressions. “We are on our way but it might take another few hours. Maybe the thunderstorm will be through by the time we go into the final stretch and Dr. Zadorov will come to our assistance by then.” 

“Great. Then I can throw him out the window as well,” Tyson gripes before letting out another guttural moan and clutching JT’s arm through another contraction. 

They end up walking in circles for hours and hours. 

“Lying on the bed will help you none,” Helen explains. “Let gravity do its job and pull the little one out. It’s the best and quickest way.” Tyson swears a blue streak at her, because apparently he does not feel particularly much like taking a stroll while contractions hit him every few minutes, but JT puts an arm around his middle, supporting Tyson’s considerable weight and together they start to pace. 

Outside the world sounds like it is about to end, lightning and thunder only a heartbeat apart and rain lashing wildly against the window panes. Inside, they slowly walk around their bedroom, occasionally stopping when another wave of pain rips through Tyson’s body. 

“You and your damn cock,” Tyson moans into JT’s chest, gripping at his upper arms. “You and your goddamn cock, I hate you both.” JT bites back a smile and instead kisses the crown of his husband’s head. He knows Tyson doesn’t mean it. 

*******

Tyson swears like a sailor as he clutches at JT, bent over, and panting through every contraction, his breath wet on the skin of JT’s arm. The pauses in between the pains get shorter and shorter and then JT can feel something shift through their bond. Tyson goes from pained and slightly panicked to focused and determined in the blink of an eye. He and Helen share a look and before JT can ask what’s happening, Helen nods and leads them over to the bed.

“Lying down or kneeling?” she asks Tyson.

“Kneeling I think,” he pants and she helps him kneel down on the carpet next to the bed. JT doesn’t know what’s happening, but he gets on his knees next to Tyson, who has fisted his hands in the bedspread and is groaning loudly. Helen takes the towels Lauren hands her and spreads them on the floor between Tyson’s knees. She bends down to look under Tyson’s nightshirt and nods.

“Well, Mr. Tyson, we are getting there,” she says with a smile. “But now I need you to push really hard. Can you do that for me?”

Tyson seems beyond arguing at this point and JT watches him grit his teeth and nod curtly before taking a deep breath and pushing. The sound that comes out of him is like nothing JT has ever heard before. It reminds him of an animal in a trap, trying to rip itself free. It makes every hair on his body stand on end, especially when Tyson keeps making it again and again.

“You are doing so well,” Helen says, one hand stuck under Tyson’s nightshirt. “So well,” she repeats. “The head is already here, so just one more push, Mr. Tyson, come on.”

“No, I can’t,” Tyson sobs into the bedspread, shaking his head. “I- push it back in. I can’t.” 

“We can’t push it back in,” JT laughs while overwhelmed tears are already streaming down his face. 

“Come on, baby,” he says, wiping back sweaty curls from Tyson’s forehead. “Just one more. And then our baby is here. Come on, you can do it.” He shoves all the love and encouragement he has in his heart through their bond, trying to give Tyson an extra boost and maybe it works, because Tyson indeed takes a shuddering breath and then pushes hard, one final time. 

JT can feel Tyson’s back muscles harden under the palm of his hand. There’s a wet splashing noise and Helen catches something with a towel. Tyson makes a sobbing sound and then- a tiny cry is piercing the stale air of their bedroom, the sweetest sound JT never knew existed. Tyson is sagging against him and JT catches him, turning them carefully, so he rests against the bed, cradling Tyson in the vee of his legs, Tyson’s back against his chest. 

There’s a blueish chord coming out from under Tyson’s nightshirt, which is stained with wetness and fresh pink blood. And at the other end of the chord, a tiny thing, wrapped in a clean towel. Helen carefully lifts it, places it in Tyson’s waiting arms and then JT is looking down at this tiny miracle. A tiny miracle they made, him and the man he loves. Huge dark eyes, a squishy little face and a tuft of flaming red hair. Ten fingers and ten toes. 

“It’s a girl,” Helen says with a suspiciously wet voice. “Congratulations.”

JT wants to thank her, wants to kiss her on the mouth in fact, wants to buy her a house or a castle or a small country, but he can’t seem to tear his gaze away from his beautiful little daughter.

“Hello, little one,” Tyson says through the tears streaming down his beautiful face, “welcome to the world.” Their daughter blinks up at them, tiny brow wrinkling, like she’s a little confused about who these two crying men looming over her are exactly. 

“She’s perfect,” JT whispers. “God, Tyson, you did so well. You are amazing. This- she-”

There’s a loud honking sound from right next to them and when they look up Lauren is blowing her nose forcefully into a handkerchief. 

“Sh-she is so b-beautiful,” she wails, dabbing at her eyes and blinking down at them.

Usually, JT tries to not push every emotion he feels through the bond, tries to show some reserve and not overwhelm his husband with his inner turmoils. But now their bond is open, emotions flushing through it from both sides, filling JT’s chest with more love and happiness than he has ever felt before. Tyson turns his head, looking up at him and JT has to lean down and kiss him. 

“I love you so much,” Tyson whispers in between kisses.

“And I love you,” JT whispers back.

*******

JT always thought a birth was done when the baby was there, but it turns out that’s not all there is to it. They have to wait for the afterbirth, which means more pushing and then blood and slime and a whole lot of muck. Tyson seems almost indignant at the messiness of it all, cursing under his breath, while JT stands a little to the side, his daughter carefully nestled in the crook of his arm. Helen controls the placenta, making sure no piece is missing and when everything is out and the bleeding has lessened, Tyson is cleaned up and shakily gets into bed. Lauren has taken off his nightshirt and put him into a new, crisp one. He’s wearing special drawers underneath with padding on the inside, almost like a giant diaper. 

“You’ll bleed a little the next few days and these help to not soil your bedsheets,” Helen explains to Tyson, who looks disgusted. 

“Don’t give me that look,” Helen says with a snort. “Omegas only bleed for three days, women often bleed for a month after birth. So count yourself lucky.” Tyson immediately stops scowling while JT grins down at their daughter. 

The thunderstorm has subsided and Lauren pushes open the window to let some fresh air in. There’s still a bit of rain falling, the raindrops making a pleasant pattering sound on the leaves of the large tree next to their bedroom window. JT sits down next to Tyson, placing their daughter in Tyson’s arms and then curling his own arm protectively around Tyson’s shoulders. They sit like that while Lauren helps Helen clean up, still blowing her nose every few minutes and hiccuping out a couple of sobs. 

Zadorov arrives half an hour later, when Helen has just managed to successfully coach Tyson how to breastfeed and JT is staring bewitched at the scene in front of him. 

“Congratulations,” is the first word out of Dr. Zadorov’s mouth and he hugs JT and then Helen, who laughs out loud in elation when Zadorov tells her how proud he is of her.

“She was amazing,” Tyson pipes up from the bed, beaming over at Helen. “Really, Dr. Zadorov, I couldn’t have done it without her.”

“Didn’t you threaten to throw her out the window?” Lauren asks with a grin.

“Yes, but just once and I only meant it a little bit,” Tyson says with as much dignity as he can muster before returning to concentrate on coaxing his nipple back into their daughter’s searching mouth. 

Helen fills Dr. Zadorov in on every minor detail of the birth and then he asks Tyson a bunch of questions and examines their daughter. JT decides to use this break to let Kerfoot - who is probably responsible for getting Zadorov here despite the weather - know that everything went well and slips out of the room. He walks down the stairs, yawning and glancing at the clock in the hallway. It is half past two in the morning, yet there are noises coming from the kitchen. JT wrinkles his brow and follows the voices down the corridor. When he pushes open the door, at least ten faces turn to him in unison. 

Kerfoot is beaming at him and so are André and Cale, Anna the cook and their maids Sophia and Betty. Betty has her son on her lap, fast asleep and with his face buried in her bosom. There’s another child sleeping in a blanket fort underneath the kitchen table on which steaming mugs of tea and glasses of foaming ale are standing. 

“Are congratulations in order?” Kerfoot asks and JT can only bark out a laugh and nod.

“I- I have a beautiful baby girl,” he says to general cheers and then there are backpats and hugs and many congratulations.

*******

The sky outside is already going light when Zadorov finally bids them adieu and tells them he’ll be back that evening to check up on them. JT sends everyone else to bed, telling them they may sleep in as long as they want. He catches Helen as she leaves their bedroom, looking exhausted but happy.

“Helen,” he says and takes her hand, pressing a quick kiss on the back of it. “I- I cannot thank you enough.” She blushes but looks very pleased. 

“Thank you, Sir,” she says and curtseys.

“It’s late,” JT says and smiles at her, “but Dr. Zadorov asked me earlier if I would be willing to let you go so you could work full time for him. He was mightily impressed by your work tonight, as was I.” Helen stares at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish. JT smiles widely at her.

“Obviously that is your decision to make and not mine,” JT continues, “but if that would be something you’d be interested in, I am sure we could arrange it. Obviously, you would still need a place to stay and maybe someone to look after your own child now and then. Which is why I would like to offer you room and board here for as long as you’d like, under the condition that if there is ever another child of mine coming into the world, you’ll deliver that one as well.” He beams down at her and Helen stares back like she has just seen a ghost. JT chuckles and puts a hand on her shoulder.

“Think about it. But first, go to bed and sleep. I told Betty to take your son into her room tonight, so you can get a little rest. You’ll have the day off tomorrow. Sleep well.”

It’s quiet when JT slips into their bedroom. There’s only a candle burning on their night stand and the soft glow of pre-dawn light streaming in through the half-open window. JT takes off his clothes and slips into bed, careful not to jostle Tyson, who is on his side, facing JT and still very much awake. Their daughter is lying in the middle of their bed, sound asleep, little mouth working in her sleep.

“Isn’t she supposed to be in her crib?” JT whispers with a smile.

“Shush,” Tyson whispers back with a grin and reaches out a hand towards him. JT grabs it, linking their fingers together and placing their hands softly on top of their daughter’s tiny belly. 

“I can’t stop looking at her,” Tyson whispers. “She’s perfect.”

“Yes, she really is,” JT agrees with a smile. 

“I think I know now what I want to name her,” Tyson says after a little pause. They have avoided that topic until now. One afternoon at the beach in California, JT had asked Tyson what names he liked for the baby and Tyson had said that it was the Alpha’s job to pick a name and not his. JT had told him that they would simply pick one together, but then they never had. Now JT beams at Tyson, who looks a bit nervous but then clears his voice with a tiny cough. 

“I think Lauren Helen Compher has a nice ring to it,” he says quietly. “What do you think?” JT looks fondly at him, trying to fight the urge to kiss his husband breathless when there is a tiny sleeping human lying between them. 

“I think that is an excellent idea, my love,” he answers simply.

*******

Their first week with tiny Lauren Helen - who everyone calls Lola - is a blur of sleepless exhaustion and euphoria over their tiny perfect daughter. Everyone comes over to see her: JT’s sisters and Gabriel with his own family in tow, Erik Johnson with a huge bouquet of flowers and a stuffed toy horse for little Lola, the MacKinnons, and even Colin Wilson, who recently asked Jesse for a position as house musician at the Denver Athletic Club. 

“Said he had enough of touring and wanted to try maybe settling down,” Jesse told both Morgan and JT during their weekly planning meetings. She grinned into her notebook though and so JT was not particularly surprised when Lauren bought herself a couple of new dresses a few days later. 

JT had been disappointed when his mother decided to move to Chicago before her first grandchild was even born, but now he’s secretly glad she’s not there. He understands that she was a victim of his father as well - perhaps even more than JT or his sisters ever were. He understands that years of being fond of the drink made the emotional distance between them grow, and while he doesn’t want to resent her for it, he still does a little bit. All things considered, JT can’t help but feel glad that he can simply tell her the good news through a telegram sent from the post office downtown. 

There is, however, another mother that he is very much interested in. Ever since he came to Denver, Tyson has rarely mentioned his family. JT knows Tyson used to be very close with his mother, his grandparents, and his younger sister. However, the contract between Tyson and JT’s father had made it very clear that Tyson was forbidden from contacting them for as long as he was married to JT. Now that Mr. Compher is dead, JT sees no reason to heed this part of the contract, so he tries to do something about the situation. Two days after Lola is born, JT catches Tyson looking at her with a wistful expression on his face.

“Oh, she just looks a bit like my younger sister,” Tyson says when JT asks him what’s wrong. “I wish I could ask my mother about it.” 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Omega MacKinnon says when JT comes to him with a special request. “Canada is a large country, but I think my father might know someone in St. Albert. I’ll send him a telegram this afternoon.”

“Thank you,” JT replies quietly, bowing deeply and pressing a quick kiss to the back of Omega MacKinnon’s hand. 

*******

Little Lola turns out to be a menace, albeit a very charming one. 

“It’s a lucky thing she is this cute,” Tyson grumbles as he feeds her for the third time one night, looking down at her with bleary eyes, while JT yawns so wide that his jaw cracks alarmingly. 

“Maybe we should hire a wet nurse?” JT asks and gets an icy stare from Tyson in return. 

“I can do it,” Tyson says, jutting out his chin. “I don’t need a wet nurse. I can feed my own baby.”

“You can,” JT agrees in a mild tone. “But maybe this would make it a little easier on you. We could hire one for every second night maybe. So you at least get some sleep now and then.” Tyson doesn’t answer but JT can feel his disgust at the idea through their bond and decides to give it up for now. A week later, when Tyson falls asleep at the dinner table, his face plopping down into the mashed potatoes, they hire Mary, another lodger from the home for unmarried mothers. 

“My little one is already thriving and doesn’t need milk during the nights anymore,” she tells them while putting Lola to her breast for the first time. “But I have so much of it, it sometimes just runs down my dress.” She looks at Tyson, who is swaying slightly on his feet, dark circles under his eyes.

“Maybe you could go and have a bit of a rest while I feed her, Sir?” she gently suggests with a nervous sideways glance at JT, who has to stifle a grin as he nods and guides Tyson towards their bedroom with a hand on his lower back.

“Tell Lauren in case you need anything,” he tells Mary over his shoulder. I’ll be back when I have put this one to bed.”

They both sleep like the dead that night, Tyson’s head pillowed on JT’s chest and his arm flung over JT’s middle. 

“You might have been right about the wet nurse,” Tyson mumbles through a yawn when they wake up the next morning. “I don’t think I have ever been this well-rested.” JT just kisses him in response before getting up and fetching little Lola from Mary’s room. 

“How was she?” he asks Mary cautiously as he enters to find her with both children on her lap, looking out the open window into the summery garden.

“Oh, not too bad, Sir,” Mary says in her chipper voice. “My Philip always screamed up a right storm, but this one just whines for a minute and then falls back asleep.”

“She must’ve been on her best behavior then,” JT mumbles and takes Lola from her. “Don’t worry though, we’ll take her every second night. I simply needed someone to help Tyson a bit and I couldn’t. He was just so terribly tired.” Mary laughs and waves him off.

“Oh, you’ll get used to that, Sir. And I’m terribly happy to be out of that mother’s home and sleeping in a comfortable bed, so don’t worry about my night’s sleep, Sir. This is lovely.” She smiles gratefully at him and JT smiles back. 

“Once Lola gets older, we might have a spot opening up for a scullion if you’d be interested in that,” he tells her. “Maybe you can ask Helen about it. Or old Lauren.”

“Old Lauren?” comes Lauren’s indignant voice from the doorway. “Really?” JT sighs and nods at Mary. 

“Let me know if you’re interested,” he says and turns to deal with Lauren who - to the surprise of nobody - is not even listening to him pointing out that she didn’t like to be called ‘big Lauren’ either and instead is distracted wholly and completely by Lola’s pudgy cheeks. 

*******

Autumn arrives slowly this year with crispy mornings, morning dew on the grass in the garden, and the smell of fresh hay and ripe apples surrounding them when they go for walks through the countryside with Lola sleeping peacefully in her baby carriage. Tyson looks much better now, even though it takes a cup of very strong coffee to get him out of bed in the mornings. Sometimes he forgets to shave and even though he doesn’t have much of a beard, there is visible stubble after a few days. 

It is unseemly for Omegas to have any sort of facial hair, but JT likes his husband’s new look, and the scratchy feeling of Tyson’s kisses excites him immensely. Well, to be fair, everything excites JT immensely these days, because they haven’t had marital relations for quite some time now. First because Tyson was too pregnant and now because his body needs time to properly heal after the birth. Mostly they are both so very tired, and on the nights when Mary has little Lola in her room, they fall into a deep sleep almost the second their heads hit the pillows. JT has tried to start something a few times, but Tyson has been less than interested, which is apparently normal for breastfeeding women and Omegas, as Dr. Zadorov has assured them both.

“As long as baby is sucking on titties, they not want anybody else near them,” Zadorov told JT without any prompting one day. JT had blushed furiously but Dr. Zadorov just laughed and patted his shoulder sympathetically.

“Use hand for while, heh? Once the baby sleeps is all going to be better.”

So JT does what the doctor prescribed and spends a little more time than usual in the bath these days. He tries to be quiet and quick about it, but he doesn’t always succeed. One day, Tyson slips in when he’s in the middle of fiddling with himself and JT almost has a heart attack.

“Tys,” he pants, while hastily grabbing a towel to cover himself. “I-”

“Shhh,” Tyson says and goes to his knees in front of him. He gently takes JT’s cock in his hand, gives it a few tugs and then sucks the head slowly into his mouth, looking up at JT through his lashes, a slight smile playing around his mouth.

“Oh fuck,” JT rasps, sinking his hands into Tyson’s locks. 

Tyson excels at driving JT insane with his mouth and since it’s been a while since they did this, it is over far too quickly. JT barely has time to enjoy the slick sounds that echo so beautifully in the bathroom, or the way Tyson’s clever tongue swirls around his shaft. Tyson’s fingers are circling the base of JT’s cock, playing with his balls and gently push the sensitive spot on his taint until JT gasps out a warning and then he’s coming and Tyson just- swallows it all, almost greedily, leaving only a little bit at the end to coat his lips and chin. 

“Fuck, look at you,” JT growls, swiping up a bit of come with his thumb before Tyson takes that in his mouth as well, suckling on it and looking at JT in a most sinful way. JT groans and pulls him up roughly, having to kiss his husband right this second and tasting himself on Tyson’s plush lips. 

“Do you want-” JT asks, rubbing his hand on Tyson’s crotch and Tyson smiles at him and shakes his head.

“It’s quite alright, my love,” he says. “I just wanted to do something nice for you.” 

“That was way more than nice,” JT replies, kissing a grinning Tyson some more. 

*******

It’s a misty October morning, almost two months after Lola’s birth and only a week before the planned grand opening of the Denver Athletic Club, when JT stands on the platform at the railway station, nervously looking at his pocket watch. The train from Chicago is supposed to arrive at eight o’clock and JT nervously paces up and down the platform in his too thin overcoat while Cale waits patiently behind him. It’s cold today, an autumn fog shrouding everything in a grey light and making the world seem gloomy and dark. JT blows warm air into his cupped hands when he finally hears the whistle of the oncoming train.

There’s a bustle of people on the platform once the train arrives. Goods and giant mail pouches are being unloaded and carried away. JT looks up and down the platform, although he has only a vague idea of who to look for. 

“Ma, I think that’s him,” he hears a young female voice yell and then somebody gently pulls at his sleeve. JT turns around and looks down at a young woman with a friendly face and straight brown hair tucked in under a woollen cap. Behind her, a middle-aged woman with an almost identical face and an older couple in thick winter coats are approaching slowly, pulling their own modest luggage behind them.

“Are you Alpha Joseph Compher?” the young woman asks shyly and JT can see a few familiar features in her face.

“No,” he replies solemnly. “I’m JT and you must be my sister-in-law Kacey.” He grins at her and she heaves a relieved sigh as she goes on her tiptoes to hug him. JT lets out a surprised laugh at her exuberance and hugs her back, even though he can hear Tyson’s mother say “Kacey!” in a chiding tone. 

“I am so glad to see you all managed the long journey fine,” JT says when Kacey has let him go and he has kissed Mrs. Jost’s hand and bowed deeply to both of Tyson’s grandparents. “It must have been a long time on the train.”

“It was,” Mrs. Jost - Laura, she tells JT to call her - says with a reserved smile. “But we were so glad when your friend contacted us. We didn’t think we would see Tyson again.” Her eyes fill with tears, but she shakes her head slightly and clears her throat. “We are so grateful you’re allowing us to visit. And that you paid for the tickets. I- I cannot thank you enough.” 

JT looks at her tired face and at her parents, nodding quietly from the background. His chest is too full with all sorts of emotions to say all that he wants - and needs - to say right now, so he turns to Cale, standing quietly a few feet away and gives him a nod. They both take the luggage from the Josts and lead them to the carriage that’s waiting for them in front of the station to take them back home. There will be time later for JT to explain a few things to everyone.

It’s quiet inside the carriage at first. Only Kacey seems giddy with excitement, looking out the window at the passing streets and asking JT question after question. He tries to answer them as best he can while shooting Laura a little smile whenever she unsuccessfully tries to reign in her daughter with subtle gestures. 

“I have to apologize for my daughter’s manners,” Tyson’s mother finally tells him, when Kacey is distracted by something outside. 

“Oh, don’t worry,” JT says with a laugh. “I have a feeling she’ll get on splendidly with my sisters.” Laura nods politely but looks at him with an accessing gaze nonetheless, giving off a distrustful air.

“Will we get to meet your parents as well, Alpha Compher?” she finally asks. JT blinks at her, takes a deep breath and then leans forward.

“Laura,” he says quietly, “my hope is that I will get to know you all better very soon, but you should know a few things right from the start.” There’s a flash of something like fear across her face at his words, but JT calmly goes on.

“If you tell me to call you by your first name,” he says, “you should call me JT, or Joseph, like everyone else does. I don’t like to be called Alpha Compher by members of my family, and you are my family now. If you insist on calling me Alpha Compher, I will insist on calling you Mrs. Jost, since that would be only fair.” Laura’s eyebrows go up slightly at this. Even Kacey has stopped staring out the window and is listening in, as are Tyson’s grandparents who seem way less sleepy than just a few minutes ago. 

“The second thing you should know,” JT says, “is that I truly love your son. I love him more than I can say and I don’t intend to ever divorce him or cast him aside for a woman. That might be a scandalous thing to many but I couldn't care less about that.” JT knows there’s a blush spreading on his face and he inwardly curses his light complexion for a moment. 

“I know,” he continues, looking intently at Tyson’s mother, “that my father was a cruel man and so you have good reason to think me cruel as well. I will try my very hardest to prove to you that I’m not.” JT breathes in deeply and then adds “My father died a few months ago.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” Laura says with a frown.

“Thank you,” JT replies. “He- he was complicated, my father. And not especially kind. I know he put it into the marriage contract your son signed that he couldn’t see you for as long as we were married. The contract also stated that your son and I were never to bond with each other and that this was purely a business marriage.” There’s a short silence. “Well,” JT says with an embarrassed little smile, “your son and I aren’t particularly great at honoring that contract it seems.”

There’s another pause when JT finishes. He looks at Tyson’s grandparents who seem shocked at JT’s blunt words, Kacey who seems stuck somewhere between delighted and amused and then his gaze goes back to Laura, looking at him with a blank expression.

“Are you-” she finally says, “are you telling me that you and my son are bonded?” JT nods silently. 

“And,” Laura asks, “my son- he- he loves you too?” JT smiles and nods again. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he says quietly. “I know he does.” 

“Oh my,” Laura says with a shaky laugh, leaning back into her seat and exchanging a quick look with her parents. “That- now that is a real surprise to start this visit with.” 

“Um-” JT says and nervously looks up at her. “I might have another surprise for you.”

“What,” Laura replies blank-faced, raising an eyebrow. 

*******

“What?” Laura says for the twentieth time when JT hands her a brass key. Her eyes are a little wild and she goes back and forth between short bursts of incredulous laughter and overwhelmed tears. Kacey is almost jumping up and down on the spot and her grandparents haven’t said a word. Instead they stare up at the house in front of them, just a few feet down the street from JT’s and Tyson’s mansion. All that separates the pieces of land are a couple of birch trees and some shrubbery. 

“This is yours,” JT repeats at Laura’s unbelieving face. “If you want it, that is. If not, you can stay here whenever you come to visit. But I’m sure your son would be delighted if you stayed closer more permanently. And- I’d be delighted as well,” he adds with a smile.

“But-” Laura says, “I- we can not afford this. I- We-” JT carefully puts a hand on her arm and she quiets, looking up at him with wide eyes. 

“This place is yours,” JT repeats. “You can keep it or sell it or burn it to the ground. It’s yours.” She just stares at him.

“You are insane,” she breathes in a tone so much like her son’s that JT laughs out loudly.

“Laura,” Tyson’s grandmother chides. JT can feel a bit of confusion through the bond and instinctively looks over to their own house. 

“I think it best to put your luggage inside now and then come to see Tyson,” he tells the group. “Because he just woke up and is already wondering where I am and why he has to change the morning diaper today.” 

JT is the first one to enter the house, peering carefully up and down the corridor. He doesn’t want to startle Tyson or make him accidentally faint and drop their daughter or something. 

“My love?” he calls and gets an answering shout back from the library. 

“So you haven’t run off and left me with the child,” Tyson says with a fond grin, when JT enters the room. Lola is lying in a bassinet while Tyson is in his coziest pants and woollen sweater, sitting in an armchair in front of the fireplace. JT walks over and kisses him gently.

“Where would I ever find another Omega as brazen and naughty as you?” he replies and laughs when Tyson bites his lower lip in retaliation. 

“I woke up and the bed was empty and cold,” Tyson says with a pout. “You better have a really good excuse for leaving me like that.” JT fails to hide his giant smile.

“Oh,” he says and extends his hand to help Tyson up, “I think I do.”

*******

JT will never forget the face Tyson makes when he leads him into the hallway and he sees his family standing by the door. Shock, surprise and utter euphoria are pulsing through their bond, almost knocking JT out in their intensity. Tyson lets out a little scream and then bursts into tears, sobbing violently as he runs over to sink into his mother’s arms. The entire Jost family descends upon them, huddling together in one giant hug with tear-stained faces pressed closely together, kneeling on the carpet as if standing is too much for them right now. Lauren is standing next to JT, both of them watching the Josts and discreetly wiping tears from their own eyes.

“You did really good, Joseph,” Lauren whispers and JT puts an arm around her shoulders and squeezes in thanks. 

Eventually Tyson gets back to his feet and wipes his face with his palms. He turns to look back at JT and the look on his face makes JT’s heart soar.

“I think you all have met my wonderful husband already,” he says to his family. 

“He bought us a house,” Kacey blurts out. Tyson whips back around to stare at her and his mother and then- his eyes roll dramatically to the back of his head and he faints, sinking to the carpet with a soundless sigh.

“I’ll get the smelling salts,” Lauren says matter of factly as JT rushes over to help his unconscious husband. 

It takes a few minutes for Tyson to come back to, lying on the chaise in their salon, feet propped up on his mother’s lap and JT kneeling next to him on the floor. Cale has brought in coffee and tea cakes for everyone, while Lauren is chatting with Tyson’s grandparents and Kacey coos over little Lola in her arms. 

“You are insane,” are the first words out of Tyson’s mouth as he opens his eyes, unwittingly echoing his mother exactly. 

“Are you pleased?” JT asks, suddenly unsure of the plans he made in secret. He told Tyson at the beginning of their marriage that he would never keep anything from him and now he has. He chews his lip a little as he looks down at his husband’s handsome face.

“Pleased?” Tyson replies incredulously, “I-” he stops himself and gently lifts a hand to cup JT’s face. “I’m over the moon,” Tyson says and pulls JT down for a gentle kiss, even though they are surrounded by his family. 

JT blushes violently and shoots Laura a quick look. Her gaze is already upon them, assessing and obviously not displeased. She gives JT a warm smile. 

“Yes,” she says warmly, “I can see it.” And with that she turns away from them to wave Kacey over. “I believe it’s my turn to hold my first grandchild now,” she says, reaching for Lola and settling her gently in the cradle of her arms. 

*******

The great opening of the Denver Athletic Club the following week is a roaring success. There are more than a hundred people joining the very first day, and another hundred the day after that. The women of Denver seem especially delighted by the prospect of evening classes and the possibility of exercising. 

JT receives a stern talking to from Laura who tells him in no uncertain terms that she has always worked for her own money and that she has no intention of stopping now. She gracefully accepted the house, yes, but when JT proposes paying for their livelihood as well, she puts her foot down. Luckily, Lauren has one of her sudden inspirations and now Laura Jost is teaching two evening classes a week, passing on her considerable knowledge about sewing to the women of Denver.

Kacey meanwhile has been fully adopted into the group by JT’s sisters, already sharing whispers and giggles with Jesse and Morgan like they’ve known each other their whole lives. They often go for long autumn walks together, with André, Kerfoot, or Cale, chaperoned by Tyson’s grandparents. JT has never seen his husband so at ease as he is now, smiling the minute he wakes up in the mornings and not stopping until they go to bed at night. 

And if JT thought his husband was affectionate before, he severely underestimates Tyson’s newfound hunger for kissing and petting and snuggling close. JT can barely leave the room for five minutes, before Tyson comes looking for him, tilting his face upwards and demanding kisses whenever they are alone for a few moments. His scent always turns warm and heavy on cinnamon when he’s like this, affection pulsing through their bond. Kerfoot has taken to making gagging noises whenever he walks in on them embracing. 

“I swear, you weren’t this bad in California, and that is really saying something,” he mutters one night when he surprises them in a dark corner of the downstairs corridor. Tyson just giggles and hides his blushing face in JT’s chest. 

Where just a few months ago Tyson and JT both felt overwhelmed by parenthood, they now have to downright fight for a little time alone with their daughter. Tyson’s grandparents often spend hours with her and the staff’s children, reading books to the entire lot or feeding the older ones cookies and milk until they have no room for supper that night. The other members of the household also take their turns showering Lola with affectionate kisses and gifts. Even visitors, like Colin Wilson, who now comes by the house frequently, like to bring her small tokens of affection like a teddy bear or a tiny bouquet of flowers for the changing table. 

One day, Colin comes to see JT in his library. They chat about the weather for a few minutes until Wilson finally takes a shuddering breath. 

“I came to ask you a question,” he begins nervously and JT lifts his hand to silence him.

“I can take an educated guess at the subject of it,” he says with a slight smile, “and I’d advise you to not ask it.” Wilson looks at him with abject terror on his face and JT quickly continues.

“Because,” he says, his smile widening, “I’d hate to tell Lauren, who has never asked permission for anything from anyone and does whatever she wants anyways, that her future husband asked me for her hand in marriage.” Colin Wilson’s face is turning beet red now and JT laughs kindly at him.

“I think it best we maybe just don’t tell her that you tried,” JT finishes with a wink.

“I’m very sure you will never get bored with her,” he tells Wilson as they clink their whiskey glasses a few minutes later, “but a word of advice - don’t ever assume you know what’s best for her. She does herself. And she’s usually right, which is very annoying.”

“Really?” Wilson says with a smile, “I think it’s amazing.”

“Good answer,” JT replies easily. 

*******

The first snow falls in late November, coating the entire town in a thick white blanket overnight. Kacey and Morgan have both started at the University of Denver and are late to their morning classes, as the carriage takes nearly twice the normal time to campus. Jesse has opted to forego college for now, instead managing the Denver Athletic Club almost entirely by herself. She’s wearing beautiful velvet suits now, eschewing corsets and dresses, and is smoking cigars in public, a fact not going unnoticed by Denver’s society. Whispers start to appear wherever she goes, but Jesse has never cared about other people’s opinions and she is not willing to start now. 

“Oh, it’s just another reason for narrow-minded people to hate us,” Omega MacKinnon tells her over dinner at JT’s and Tyson’s house one night. “You should hear them when they ask Nate when he’s finally marrying a woman and divorcing me.”

“They ask him that in front of you?” Jesse asks, horrified. Tyson MacKinnon just laughs.

“No, but you forget I’m bonded to my husband. They ask him and then I feel a spike of fury and have to go and kiss it better.” Nate blushes furiously next to him.

“Will you stop saying that in front of people?” he hisses as the rest of the table bursts into laughter. 

“Please don’t,” Erik Johnson shouts from down the table. “I ask for so little in life, and I’d like to be able to continue making fun of your husband, Omega MacKinnon.” Nate throws a bread roll in his direction and then mumbles an apology at Morgan’s stern look. 

“Can’t take you anywhere, eh?” JT hears Tyson MacKinnon quietly say to his husband before they exchange a smile. 

That night, after all their guests have left and JT has locked the front door, he climbs up the stairs to the bedroom, takes off his clothes, and slips into the new pyjamas he got as a present from his husband. They’re made from a silky fabric, burgundy and blue and JT thinks they’re the most comfortable item of clothing ever constructed. 

He walks towards the open connecting door to Lola’s room, where Tyson is sitting in the rocking chair in his nightshirt, unbuttoned at the collar so Lola can get at his breast. There’s a fire burning in the open fireplace and Tyson has a wool throw wrapped around his bare legs. He looks relaxed and young, cheeks rosy from the heat of the fire and his locks unusually long and unruly. 

JT thinks he asks for very little in life but right now, he would give a small fortune to have somebody take a picture of his lovely husband and their gorgeous little daughter and scratch it on the inside of JT’s skull, so he never forgets it. 

“Hey there, stranger,” Tyson softly says and smiles at him. He only had a bit of red wine at dinner, but his lips are stained a dark red and JT simply has to walk over and kiss them softly, just a quick press of lips and a little closeness. He looks down at Lola, suckling at Tyson’s nipple, eyes half open and her little hand clenching and unclenching in mid-air. Her hair is long enough to get a little curly now, just like Tyson’s, with the color much like JT’s - red as a flame. 

She has grown so much during the past few months, meaning the women of the household never run out of sweaters to knit and pants to sew. Dr. Zadorov is very happy with her health, praising Tyson’s and Mary’s feeding every time he comes over. Still, the bigger she gets, the less she wants the breast, meaning she will let Tyson and JT sleep for up to five or six hours at a time. Only last week she slept for seven hours straight, which led to JT and Tyson enjoying a little married time in peace. JT finally got to touch his husband’s cock again, a fact he celebrated by bringing Tyson to the edge a couple of times with his hands, before getting between Tyson’s spread legs and sucking him until Tyson came down his throat. 

Two days later, they rubbed off on each other in the bath, while Kacey was on a long winter walk with Lola. By the time they finished their bath, there was hardly any water left inside the tub instead all of it had migrated to the bathroom floor. 

“I regret nothing,” JT said, clumsily mopping it up with a used towel while Tyson laughed in delightand then went to bed for a nap. 

So the state of their marital relations is almost back to normal now, albeit a little more quiet and rushed, on account of the sleeping infant not ten feet away from their bed. However, JT hasn’t yet dared enter his husband again, even after Tyson assured him it was fine. He can’t even say why he has such hesitations, as being inside of his husband has always been one of JT’s favorite things in the world. But he remembers the birth and the pained expression Tyson had had for weeks after, every time he returned from the lavatory. JT is scared of hurting Tyson and scared of getting him pregnant again. 

Late one night, after they have pleasured each other with their hands, he tells Tyson as much.

“It’s not that I don’t want another child,” he says quietly, hugging Tyson from behind, “but I remember how rough this pregnancy was on you. Your body needs a little rest and if that means I can’t enter you for a while, then so be it.” There is a slight pause and just as JT starts to worry that he said something to cause his husband offense, Tyson turns around in his arms, an astonished expression on his face. 

“You might just be,” Tyson says gently caressing JT’s face with his thumb, “the most considerate Alpha to ever walk the face of the earth.” JT smiles at him fondly.

“You’re also the stupidest one,” Tyson adds and JT makes a noise in outrage. 

“Haven’t you read anything about Omegas?” Tyson asks through the laughter that is bubbling up his throat. “You can’t get an Omega pregnant for at least a year after birth. Even if I went into heat and you knotted me, my body wouldn’t respond.” 

“What? How come nobody ever told me?” JT loudly whispers in outrage. “How come Zadorov didn’t? He only talked some nonsense about how I should be eating raw frog spawn to make myself infertile but I figured that was a lie.” 

“Maybe it’s time for us to get another physician,” Tyson replies with another laugh, kissing JT placatingly and snuggling close. “Now you should rest up, because tomorrow night, I will need you to really put me through my paces, Alpha.” 

It is very difficult indeed for JT to fall asleep after that. 

*******

They don’t get to the making love part the next night however, nor the one after that. Lola gets sick with a stomach bug, vomiting over everyone and everything for two days straight. Tyson and Mary take it in turns to feed her every hour, trying to get at least a little bit of liquid into her burning hot body. JT, meanwhile, runs around the house like a headless chicken, worried out of his mind and getting into the way of everybody. Laura comes over and forces half a glass of whiskey down his throat before parking him in his armchair in the library with a fresh pipe and the newspaper.

“It’s fine,” she says, pushing him firmly down into the cushions. “Children get sick. Doesn’t mean they die. Lola is big and strong and my son is very capable. Now you stay here, read your paper and stop making everybody nervous. I’ll let you know when we need your help.” 

JT lasts for maybe twenty minutes in his chair before he’s back in Lola’s room. He thinks it’s a Herculean effort on his part. 

When Lola finally gets better after two days, Tyson comes down with the same thing. After a day of him retching over the toilet bowl, JT joins him. Then it’s Kerfoot, then André, then Anna. It takes almost a fortnight until the entire house is in the clear again, just in time for advent season and the hustle and bustle that ensues with the preparation for Christmas. 

One morning, JT comes down to find a giant fir tree lodged halfway in the front door. 

“So, we’re doing the Christmas tree then?” he asks and Lauren’s ginger hair emerges from in between the branches, face red and sweaty. 

“Seems like it,” she answers with a solemn nod. 

“You need a hand?” JT asks.

“No need,” Colin Wilson says as he pops up from under another branch. “I think we’ll manage just fine as soon as Makar finds his footing.”

“I’m trying,” comes the muffled voice of Cale from somewhere underneath all the green. JT blinks at them, nods and then goes to eat his breakfast. He was against getting a large tree anyways.

Once the tree is up, however, even JT can’t deny its cheery effect on everyone who sees it. The staff’s children are especially fond of it, the glistening decorations and the candy canes Kacey hangs in the lower branches for them to find. The MacKinnons come over with little Jamie, who has started to crawl like the world’s fastest little turtle, grabbing at everything he reaches, including the household’s cats, the sooty fire poker, and Lauren’s long hair. JT watches Nate run after his son for a full hour until Jamie finally falls asleep.

“I hope the secret never gets out that if everyone just did this, they wouldn’t need to come to the Denver Athletic Club,” Nate says with a deep sigh. “I don’t know where the energy inside this tiny boy is coming from, but I sure as hell can’t keep up.”

“Sounds delightful,” JT mumbles, carefully peering at Lola on her blanket, who can’t even roll over yet and silently gives thanks that crawling is still months away. 

The second advent Sunday, Lauren comes home from her Sunday walk in tears. She tries to hide them, but JT runs into her in the hallway and when she tries to flee to her room, he simply grabs her by the wrist and pulls her into the library.

“What happened?” he demands, carefully examining her face. “Did somebody do something to you? Was it Wilson? I’ll kill him if he did.” 

“N-no,” Lauren sniffs, furiously wiping tears from her face. “Col- he didn’t- he just-” She starts sobbing again. JT finds a crumpled handkerchief in his pocket and hands it to her. Lauren immediately blows her nose into it.

“He,” she says when she has calmed down a little, “he proposed to me.” JT nods.

“Yeah, he said he wanted to.” Lauren’s head snaps up.

“You knew about this?” she screeches. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“And spoil the surprise? Why would I do that? And why are you upset? I thought you liked Mr. Wilson.” 

“I do,” Lauren replies quietly, fiddling with the wet handkerchief in her hands. “But- marriage. If I were to get married, I would have to give up my position here.”

“Who says that?” JT asks, frowning at her. “Did Wilson tell you that?” Lauren stares at him. 

“No?” she replies slowly. “But- no married woman works. It’s not- it’s not right.” JT pulls up his eyebrows.

“Do you really believe that?” he asks. She shakes her head a little.

“Of course not,” she says. “But what- the people are already talking so much. And I don’t want to do that to Col.” JT looks at her for a moment. 

“If Colin Wilson cares more about what people say,” JT says finally, “than about the happiness of the woman he loves, he is not the man I thought he was. Who cares what people say. Look what they are saying about me and Tyson! Or about the MacKinnons! Imagine what they will say if André ever proposes to Morgan.” Lauren blinks at him but doesn’t reply. JT sighs. 

“Listen,” he tells her, smiling encouragingly, “I want you to work here even if you get married. If you want to, that is. And I will give your salary to you and not your husband. And if Wilson ever so much as puts a finger on you, I will throw him into a mine shaft and cement it shut.” An inappropriate laugh escapes Lauren’s throat and she quickly presses the wet handkerchief to her mouth.

“Take it from me,” JT says, “do what makes your heart sing and don’t give a damn about what people might have to say about it. Anything else is no way to live.” 

“Holy shit,” Lauren whispers when JT has finished talking. “Jimothy, when the hell did you get wise?”

“Only just happened,” JT replies and hugs her tightly. 

*******

The next morning, there is an engagement band on Lauren’s finger, reflecting the light from the red wax candles on their dining room table. That night, Colin Wilson joins them for dinner, blushing at all the congratulations the newly engaged couple receive. Gabriel Landeskog and his family - including Mikko - are also in attendance and instead of celebrating the engagement with cake, they celebrate it with Swedish gingerbread cookies shaped like hearts. 

Tyson leans close and whispers into JT’s ear, his lips brushing JT’s earlobe and making him shiver.

“Oh my,” Tyson whispers, theatrically looking around, resting his eyes on Wilson, Gabe, André and lastly JT, “so many good looking men in this room. What a good night for an Omega like myself.” JT can hear the smile in his voice and feels fondness, humor and a bit of arousal being pushed through the bond from Tyson’s end. He shivers again and tightens his arm around his husband’s middle. He feels possessive all of a sudden, wanting to stake a claim right here in front of everybody. He concentrates on that thought and pushes it back through their bond. Tyson’s face is still close and JT doesn’t miss the way his pupils suddenly dilate, rendering Tyson’s eyes almost black. 

“Hey you two,” comes Lauren’s voice from beside them and they both jump in their seats. “Unbelievable,” Lauren mutters and hands them the cookie tin with a shake of her head.

*******

They hadn’t originally planned on having a large Christmas feast, but with Tyson’s family, JT’s sisters and their members of staff who don’t travel home for the holidays, they are already almost twenty people. Helen and Sophia both take a train back to their families for Christmas and so does Cale, but everyone else stays to celebrate together. 

Tyson decides that all the staff’s children need presents and he and JT take a very enjoyable trip to the biggest toy store in Denver with Kacey and Morgan, from which they return with stuffed animals and jigsaw puzzles for all the children. Tyson’s grandmother meanwhile makes candied almonds for the adults. The staff clean the entire house before Christmas day, scrubbing floors and beating carpets, dusting every chandelier in the house and polishing the silverware. There’s bouquets of fragrant fir twigs in every room, as well as candles made from fresh beeswax that make JT feel nostalgic for a childhood he didn’t have. 

Lola is smiling at them now, trying to grab their fingers or hair and blowing spit bubbles to the great amusement of JT and Tyson. She also makes funny sounds that almost sound like words and tug at JT’s heartstrings in a very special way.

“I know I might be biased,” he tells Lauren, “but she really might be the prettiest and most clever baby in all of Denver.” Lauren laughs but eventually agrees with him, when JT won’t stop listing all of Lola’s best features - and there are many. 

The night before Christmas, JT gives everyone the evening off. Tyson, him and Lola go over to Laura’s house for dinner and charades, with Morgan and Jesse also in attendance. Both JT’s and Tyson’s competitive side comes out during charades and they beat the rest of the group easily.

“That’s unfair,” Kacey shrieks, when Tyson guesses another one of JT’s mimes. “You two have your bond. Of course you can read each other’s minds!” JT and Tyson both laugh.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Tyson says with a grin. “We’re just so much better at this than you are.” It gets rowdy after that. 

After many more rounds of charades and a last nightcap, they finally bundle up Lola against the cold and make the short walk over to their own house in the light from the stars above. The snow is crunchy underneath their feet and from afar, JT can hear the church bells chime ten o’clock. When they get home, Tyson goes upstairs to settle Lola and JT decides to go through a last bit of paperwork before the Christmas break. There are just two or three contracts he wants to take another look at and he’s pretty sure Tyson will fall asleep next to Lola anyways. JT fills his pipe, pours himself some whiskey and settles in, reading through the first contract on his desk. 

He has barely gotten through the first page, when the door to the library opens quietly and Tyson slips inside, closing it and locking up carefully behind him. He’s barefoot and only wearing the blue silk dressing gown that was part of his dowry.

“Tys?” JT asks, looking up and wrinkling his forehead in confusion. “Are you alright? Is Lola already asleep?” Tyson doesn’t answer but smiles wickedly at him and JT can smell that he’s aroused - the scent of spicy cinnamon is wafting through the air of the library, instantly going to JT’s head. 

“I know you gave everyone the night off,” Tyson says, slowly making his way over to JT’s desk, “but I secretly asked Mary a favor and she agreed to take Lola for the night.” 

Tyson’s voice is almost a purr as he comes around the table and carefully sits down on top of it, facing JT and putting his bare feet up on the armrests of JT’s chair, essentially boxing him in. 

“I thought it has been a while, since we- had some time for ourselves,” Tyson says and smiles his wicked smile again, leaning back on his hands, his gaze resting on JT in a way that makes him dizzy.

JT’s pulse is hammering in his own ears as Tyson slowly pulls at the belt of his dressing gown, which falls open to reveal nothing but miles of smooth, naked skin, a smattering of dark curls between his legs and Tyson’s cock, already half hard and flushed. JT stares helplessly, his pipe dangling from his fingers and he quickly places it into the ashtray next to his whiskey glass, before tentatively putting his hands on Tyson’s ankles, stroking his fingers over the smooth skin there. 

“Do you want to?” Tyson whispers, smiling down at him. JT swallows and nods, momentarily lost for words. 

“Good,” Tyson purrs, leaning even further back on his hands, adjusting his legs and revealing his hole, pink and glistening with slick already. 

“Fuck,” JT breathes, sliding his hand upwards and caressing the skin on the inside of Tyson’s thigh with trembling fingers. He slides two of them into Tyson straight away, the slick easing the way. 

“Haaah,” Tyson exhales, throwing back his head and exposing his throat in a way that makes JT’s skin feel too tight. 

“Look at you,” JT whispers in awe as he twists his fingers slightly. “You are the best thing I’ve ever seen. So pretty, so eager, so wet. Do you want it, my love?” JT knows he’s talking nonsense, but he cannot seem to make himself stop.

Tyson makes a wordless sound and pushes down on JT’s fingers in answer, whining high in his throat. JT scissors his fingers ever so slightly, intently looking at Tyson’s face.

“And you’re sure you don’t hurt anymore?” he asks, just to be safe. Tyson nods, still not speaking but rutting quite intently up and down to get JT deeper. 

JT can’t look away from the way his fingers slide in and out of Tyson, while he clumsily tries to open his own pants with his left hand. 

“I’m gonna give it to you so good,” he says, finally pulling down his pants and drawers, giving his own painfully hard cock a few hasty tugs. Tyson is moaning loudly when he looks down to see what JT is doing, his legs twitching and his chest flushed pink with arousal. JT bends down and licks a stripe up Tyson’s hard cock, before suckling teasingly on the head. 

“JT,” Tyson breathes, letting himself sink down on his back completely, dislodging multiple items from JT’s desk in the process. JT is pretty sure his paperweight shatters on the floor and his letter opener clatters loudly as it falls, but it’s meaningless when all he can think about is getting up from his chair and bending over his husband, so aroused and beautiful underneath him, kissing back greedily when JT gets his mouth on him. 

“Come on,” Tyson whines, squirming and reaching out to pull JT closer. “Do it. Get inside me. You haven’t for so long and I want you, I need you, my love!” Tyson is speaking fast, seeming almost beside himself with pleasure and JT can’t think, can’t do anything but pull his fingers out, line himself up and finally - finally - sink into Tyson’s wet heat. 

“Fuuuck,” Tyson groans, immediately wrapping his legs tightly around JT’s back and clenching around him. “Oh God, I- I missed this, missed you,” he slurs in between kisses and JT silently agrees. 

He thrusts deeply into Tyson, just the way his husband likes, making him moan and gasp and clutch at JT’s shoulders. They’re kissing, Tyson whimpering into JT’s mouth at every upstroke, their breaths hot on each other’s faces. Tyson’s pupils are huge, glittering in the light from the desk lamp and the fireplace. There’s heat flowing through their bond as they settle into a rhythm and JT gives up on keeping his own emotions in check, letting his own arousal flow freely through the bond until Tyson’s eyes go unfocused. 

“Tys-” he rasps, just before the pressure gets too much, “Tys, oh, oh fuck.” JT’s thrusts become fast and erratic when he reaches for Tyson’s cock. He wants Tyson to come first, wants to feel him contract around his cock, wants to make him fly apart like he himself is about to. Tyson indeed comes only a few seconds later, arching his back and letting out an actual scream, and JT follows him right over the edge, almost without a sound, his face buried in Tyson’s neck and his entire body tingling with pleasure. 

*******

JT eventually pulls out and falls back into his chair, clumsily pulling Tyson into his lap. Tyson is soft and boneless after his orgasm and JT thinks it pertinent to kiss and pet his husband until he is purring for the two of them. 

“I missed this,” JT says after a few minutes of pleasurable silence, softly stroking up and down Tyson’s spine and pressing kisses on his husband’s temple.

“Me too,” Tyson answers quietly. The clock in the hallway chimes midnight and Tyson looks up at him. 

“It’s Christmas,” he says with a smile, leaning up and kissing JT on the lips.

“Merry Christmas, my love,” JT whispers back. Tyson rests his head sideways on JT’s chest and gestures towards the window and the sky outside.

“Look,” he says softly and JT follows his finger with his gaze to look outside.

The sky is as clear as only a winter night sky can be, with millions of stars glistening in the darkness, their light reflecting on the blanket of snow on the ground. 

“When I was a little boy, my mother used to tell me that every star was somebody’s wish that came true,” Tyson says quietly. “And every time I wished for something I looked up at the sky, trying to make another star appear.” JT smiles into Tyson’s locks and hugs him a little closer.

“What did you wish for?” he asks. 

“Oh, many things,” Tyson replies. “But mostly, I wished for a friend. Someone who would love me just as I was. Someone who would make me feel safe and loved.” He lifts his head and smiles at JT. 

“It took a while, but in the end, I think I made another star appear,” he says, pushing love and happiness through the bond. 

JT doesn’t think he could find the right words to answer him even if he thought about it for a lifetime, so he simply pulls Tyson in for a kiss, trying to put all the things he wants to say into it, making Tyson feel how loved and cherished he really is. 

Tyson lays his head back on JT’s chest and they both look out at the sky again. 

“It’s the most beautiful thing,” Tyson says, his voice getting sleepy but his eyes still fixed on the shimmering array of stars. “Those stars. They look like- like ten thousand jewels in the sky.”

“Yeah,” JT whispers in agreement, “like ten thousand jewels in the sky.”

*******

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set in 1890 in Denver Colorado. I tried to stay true to at least some facts about the Victorian era in general, but I inserted a bunch of very unrealistic things, because this is my fic and I do whatever I want. For example they would have had to manually heat up the water for every bath, so personal hygiene was a little less diligent back then. There is also no way the lower and upper classes would have mingled like this, and Victorian people generally didn’t touch as much, not even if they were married. A kiss in front of others would have been scandalous and therefore out of the question. JT and Tyson also take care of their child mostly themselves, which was very much not common at all during this time. Basically, Victorian society was the worst and I ignored this fact for most of the story. Also, alcohol was illegal during prohibition and there’s a bunch of casual boozing in here, because I drank a lot of red wine while writing this. L’chaim! 
> 
> The 1890s was a very turbulent time in Denver with high crime rates and the Denver depression starting in 1893, at the end of the silver rush. It’s slightly foreshadowed in this story, but of course this is a piece of fictitious porn and not a history book, so I did not include the fact that this era of hunger and unemployment laid the foundation for years of escalating bigotry and racism, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the area and a bunch of other horrifying bullshit. I also did not mention slavery in this, because again: fictitious, self-indulgent porn and not a historical document, so it wouldn’t have felt right to include such a serious topic in this thing.
> 
> The Denver Athletic Club does in fact exist until this very day, but it was founded in 1884 by a man called William D. Rathvon and originally only offered activities for white men. The University of Denver didn’t offer courses to women until 1909. I changed all of this in the story because fuck that noise. Invent the feminism you want to see in the world. 
> 
> I want to reiterate that this is (very obviously) a work of fiction and so JT Compher’s dad from this story is by no means a real person! I just needed a villain and he was convenient. I am sure JT Compher’s dad in real life is a lovely human being who hopefully will never find out about this anyways. Mr. Cherry is a piece of shit in every reality however and I stand by that. 
> 
> Again, I would not have finished this without the constant help and encouragement from my wonderful beta Ali. Girl, I will buy you so many drinks when we meet! SO MANY! 
> 
> In case you liked this: This story was hella (!) influenced by “This time next year” by Oplopanax, which might be my favorite fanfiction of all time. Go read it now and thank me later.
> 
> Pssst, come and yell hockey at me over [on tumblr](https://jiggyloveshockey.tumblr.com)! 


End file.
